She's Just A Girl And She's On Fire
by sweetascandyy
Summary: Autumn Annalise Lancaster is the first graduate of Tommy Dreamer's House of Hardcore and it's first ever heavyweight champion. In a mission to change the business she hopes to have the brightest of futures in, Autumn encounters some giant hurdles and must strategically plan all of her next moves to success.
1. The Birth of a Champion

Every beginning comes accompanied with an end. It's the way of life and the understanding that us as humans bear with every day. We all go through many beginnings and endings. School, work, marriages… even life. Every beginning has an end. Tonight, one of my beginnings becomes one of the many endings in its path. Tonight, I graduate and become one with the big men on the walkway to the ring.

I started training at the House of Hardcore about six months ago under its founder, Tommy Dreamer. I met Tommy at a small house show in White Plains, New York and I asked him about the House of Hardcore and if he knew of any places I could start training. He suggested I take a look at what he had, and I followed him to Poughkeepsie. I'd never trained prior to that and to be that close to the ring for the first time was a memory I'd never forget.

Everyone around us was training for the opening show and some of ECW's greats were in my presence. Rhyno, the Sandman, Tommy was there of course, and he called one of the biggest influences in my life, Adam Copeland to appear. He was having a ball in the ring and I never thought I'd see him fly off those ropes ever again after he needed to retire. It's moments like that that you need to cherish before you graduate from the first class of a new company with names like that. Those men are watching you and are rooting you on as they kick your ass all over that ring just to toughen you up. Of course, there are moments where you don't think you can go on. My home in Yonkers wasn't too far and I could go back anytime I wanted, but every time I would try, Tommy held me back.

"We don't get anywhere when we run away." He'd say and I'd drop my bags and go back up to my apartment in defeat.

Tommy became the father I had away from home. My parents supported my decision of course. I dropped out of college and quit my job which they absolutely hated, but I was fighting for something. Wrestling isn't just going out into the ring to put on a show for whoever is there, whether it be one hundred people or ten thousand. It isn't about fighting for your paycheck every week or even winning championships.

Wrestling is a passion. When you step your foot into this business, you don't leave that easily because it's a decision you make based on how passionate you are. I walked into this building fifty pounds too heavy and not an athletic bone in my body. Now, I could make Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara look like amateurs in the ring with the moves I can do. I'm the high flyer of the class, and I'm the only one of us that can do what I do. This isn't me being cocky, it's just me stating the facts that even my colleagues have told me. I'll be going somewhere.

Right now though, I am sitting in the building in Poughkeepsie where the House of Hardcore shows are held. I'm sitting in the thirteenth row facing the ring. The folding chair is blue and has a cushion seat. Sandman is helping Tommy set things up and is putting all of the weapons under the ring while I sit here and think of how many times I may or may not need to use those tonight. See, there is a catch tonight. Only one person will be graduating from the House of Hardcore's first class. There are six people, including myself in the class. There will be three matches with three winners. Two of those three will be chosen by the House of Hardcore Legends (Rhyno, Adam, and Sandman) and will go onto face each other in a second match. The winner of the match not only graduates, but will go on to be the first House of Hardcore Champion.

Everyone thinks that all wrestling is scripted, but tonight isn't. Tommy wants this to be fair play and basically, you're fighting to win. You're going in that ring tonight to get your chance to achieve greatness and that is something that the six of us are all thirsty for. We want to achieve greatness, we want our names in lights and we want more gold than a pirate would.

As I thought of a strategy, I saw Tommy leaving the ring to greet someone in a black suit with a blue button down. A short and stout man with a balding head and a ponytail. I should have figured that he was showing up here to scout people tonight since Tommy always was a Paul Heyman guy, but I didn't expect the people that Heyman was with. Triple H, Stephanie, Linda and Vince McMahon were with him. Some of WWE's top stars and corporate officials were here tonight, probably to scout and I realized that I was one of the people that was going to be scouted. It sounds scarier than it is, probably because I was trying to be so calm.

I stood up and walked in the other direction to start working on my stretches. My match was up first and I would be facing some twenty-five year old, muscled up idiot. You know that quote from Grease; 'his brains are all in his biceps'? Yeah, that was this guy. I was convinced he couldn't do two plus two in his head and get four but he could definitely beat me in three seconds, and that was all he needed to count to.

After I did my stretches and the people were all filed into their seats, I quickly changed into my red and black attire and made sure everything fit perfectly. If the McMahons and Paul Heyman were in the audience, I needed to impress and be on my A game for sure. My match was announced and I walked to the ring after my opponent did to an ovation that I didn't think was for me. So many familiar faces were in the audience. My family and my friends, one of which attended the House of Hardcore with me until she got injured. I promised her I would continue for her sake and didn't try to back out after that.

The bell rung and the match begun. He had strength on his side but I had speed and agility. It was one of the longest matches that I had ever done in my time at the school, but he made one big mistake; he tried to showboat his way to a victory. As he taunted and tried to roar up the crowd, I got up off the mat and placed myself comfortably on the top turnbuckle which was now like a new home to me. When he turned, I launched myself off and connected with a hurricanrana that brought Vince McMahon and Paul Heyman to their feet. It even brought Tommy and Adam to their feet since they didn't know I could do that and to be completely honest, I didn't know I could do that.

I made sure my opponents shoulders were down and got the three count, winning my spot in the next part of the night. I celebrated on the turnbuckles and then went to the backstage area to relax. I didn't want to talk to anyone and when they congratulated me, I simply said thanks, took a sip of water and kept walking.

The next two matches passed quickly and myself and the two other winners were asked to go out to stand on the entrance ramp. The Legends stood in the ring with microphones in their hands and the small venue was quiet. Adam talked it over with Rhyno and Sandman before explaining the rules to the audience. He then walked up the ramp to approach us. Pointing to the second match winner, he motioned to the ring and with a smile on his face, the man that could be my final opponent went to the ring.

I moved in closer and Adam looked between me and my other colleague. We both put on amazing matches and I wouldn't blame anyone if he was chosen. Looking between the two of us, Adam pointed to me and then the ring before apologizing to the man standing next to me. I was chosen and I walked to the ring to meet my opponent.

"The following match is scheduled for one fall and is for the House of Hardcore Championship." Adam said from the entrance ramp.

Looking at my opponent, I knew I should have been the fresher competitor, but my match was much longer than his. I needed to end it as quickly as possible, but before anything could register after the bell rang, he had already gotten the upper hand. I was being tossed around the ring like a rag doll and I had narrowly escaped a few pin attempts.

I needed to get the upper hand and with a quick kick to the head, he was down. I did my best to stay on top of him, flying from one side of the ring to the other to land on him but with every pin I tried to make, he'd kick out at one or two. He was weak though and worn out with how I was moving so quickly that I knew I could test a different move.

Struggling to move him over to the corner, I climbed up the turnbuckle with his head in my arm's grasp. Standing up on the top turnbuckle to connect the move, I lifted myself into the air and turned us with my weight to connect the DDT. He was out cold and I went for the pin, finally connecting it.

I looked up at the lights above the ring as the bell rang and the arena erupted. I hadn't realized what just happened but it soon became clear when Tommy and Rhyno were both in the ring to present me with the House of Hardcore belt that they had worked hard on designing. I stood up off the floor and turned to look at the two of them. Tommy walked forward and told me to hold out my arms, and following his order, he placed the belt in my arms after.

No music was playing and the cheers were dying down as I stared down at the belt. It's a good moment, really. It never registers on TV what you feel when you are given what you have been fighting so hard for, but that moment was a moment that everyone felt. I fell down onto my knees and held the belt close to my forehead as I felt the tears fall down my cheeks and the vulnerability was disgusting, but I didn't really give a damn. I had worked six months; I had trained, tried to run, endured nights of endless pain and worked through blood, sweat and even more tears than I had now just to get this belt. And on top of that, I had made history.

"Here is your winner; the first graduate of the House of Hardcore, and the first ever House of Hardcore Champion, Autumn Annalise Lancaster!" Tommy announced.

Not only was I the first champion, but I was the first female to ever hold the most prestigious title in a company. Women have held championships. The Woman's title, Diva's title, Tag titles… even Intercontinental championships, but never has someone held the biggest title.

The night was over and as I left the ring, I got a good look at the crowd after I got a look at my new championship. My family and friends were on their feet and on the opposite side of the arena, Paul Heyman and the McMahons, as well as Triple H were all on their feet. I smiled and stepped down from the apron and walked to the back.


	2. Opportunities With A Brass Ring

The atmosphere backstage was as electric as it was out by the ring. People were congratulating me and patting me on the back as if they were seeing me as a true talent for the first time. My classmates all gave me their best and told me to watch out for them in the future. Honestly, all of my classmates were as talented, if not more talented than I was. I knew I'd be seeing them wherever I ended up.

As I walked to my locker room, I realized that my belt was missing an essential piece to its character. There was a place that was set right at the bottom for a nameplate indicating who the champion was. I had a feeling it was in Tommy's office, so instead of changing out of my attire, I went straight to the office to complete the night.

The door was open but the room was full of people. Tommy was there as well as Adam, Rhyno and Sandman. Paul Heyman, Vince McMahon and Triple H were all standing and Stephanie and Linda were sitting down as they discussed the night with some coffee. It was loud and I felt bad for eavesdropping, but when your name is brought up on more than one occasion, you kind of just freeze and are thirsty to know more.

"So, tell us how things work here, Tom." Vince said.

"Well, I write nothing. No one here writes anything for anyone but themselves. Storylines are set up by the people involved and if someone wants in, they adjust. The outcomes of matches depend on how long a person can last in the ring. I've had matches go on for over an hour at a time and that's because the two involved were so determined, neither wanted to give up. The match standards resemble ECW's when I first started in the business. I can tell you now, the women here are as tough, and some are tougher than the men. It's all about resilience and a person's willpower in the ring." He explained. That basically summed up the House of Hardcore in a nutshell.

"So was Autumn winning the title a part of the storyline she set up?" Triple H asked. The room went silent. I could picture everyone in the room that knew me looking from one person to another, looking for the right things to say.

"No." Adam finally said. "Autumn has been working her ass off for the time she's been here and some of those moves, she never even showed us. She came here with no prior talent but is as passionate as I was when I went to the WWE." He explained. Leave it to Adam to always have my back. If Tommy was like a father to me here, Adam was my brother.

"How is she on the microphone?" I heard Triple H ask. Stephanie and Linda were mumbling about his question in their seats.

"Well…" Adam began, but I felt that I'd heard enough.

"It shouldn't matter how I am on the microphone. This isn't a talking game. It's an 'I kick your ass and take what's mine' game." I said as I walked past everyone in the office and placed my title on Tommy's desk.

I needed to keep my 'tough girl' exterior, which wouldn't be so difficult minus the fact that Adam was giving me the proud look a big brother would give his baby sister on the day of her wedding. It didn't make me sick since I hate affection; it instead made me more confident to know that he was on my side with this.

"Excuse me? It used to be like that, sweetheart, but it's not now. Wrestli-" Triple H began but I cut him off.

"It's a passion. I'm not here for a paycheck. I'm here because wrestling is something I've been passionate about since I'm a little kid, but it was something that everyone thought I wouldn't be able to do." I said before nodding my head, smirking as I looked up at the thirteen time world champion and a man I idolized as a child. "I'm going to take notes out of yours and Adam's books. You once said that being in this business is all about climbing a ladder to grab that brass ring that you're thirsty for. Adam has said that being in this business is about being an opportunist and doing things when people least expected them. Now I have been eavesdropping for about ten minutes and I'm already annoyed. By the way, sorry for that." I said, turning to Tommy. Turning my attention back to Triple H, I continued. "Adam's right about me. He's been here with me every baby step of the way. Tonight, I took a chance and I executed those moves with no practice. I've been watching people hit them every Monday, Thursday and Friday night since I'm two. So if you're asking if I'm good on a microphone, well then sweetheart, I think you need to check your priorities about wrestling and get back in the ring and out of the suit." I said, folding my arms.

Stephanie got up off her seat and stood right in front of me. She was in a pantsuit and heels, but she didn't need those to tower over me. Her hand remained sturdy on her hips and she had the same look on her face that she always had before she bitch slapped someone right across the face. I thought she was going to hit me, but I didn't expect anything she said next.

"I like her."

"Steph, what are you doing?" Triple H asked.

"I like her! She reminds me of me, and if you're asking if she's good on a microphone, well… I love you babe, but she just schooled you like no tomorrow. She could be a grade A bitch and I think I know of a person who's dealt with a lot of bitches and bastards in his day." She said, turning her head to Paul.

He looked up at her and then at me before walking over to where I was. My look was still the same and I was a bit calmer in knowing that Paul Heyman would do absolutely nothing to me. His eyes roamed and he nodded, looking at Stephanie and then at me.

"How old are you, Autumn?" He asked.

"I just turned twenty-one." I said as I looked up at him. He nodded again.

"I can work with this. I know exactly who I can pair her off with. They will be like a dynamic duo." He said as he looked at Stephanie.

My eyes widened and my head turned to Adam who caught on quickly. I was already a part of a duo, and if I was going anywhere, my partner and best friend was coming with me. I didn't care what I needed to do to get her a match.

"Autumn's already in a dynamic duo… her partner Ember Lee got injured about four weeks ago and wasn't cleared to compete tonight. She's just as great as Autumn is if you'd let her tag along for the ride. You can trust my judgment." Adam said, vouching for Ember and myself.

"Alright. I'll look at your partner. Regardless, you two will be starting out in developmental. It's where everyone makes their start, but you will be working on the main roster as well. I have plans." Paul said and I could tell he was piecing something together in his head.

As he and Stephanie talked over the plans, Triple H sat down and Vince stood up, buttoning his suit jacket. The room quickly went silent and he looked down at me, nodding his head as if he was agreeing with everything Paul and Stephanie were going with.

"I'm putting input. I'm still the CEO of my company and it's my job to make the proper business decisions. Autumn and her friend, Ember, will be signed to developmental contracts to the WWE. I will look through Paul's plans, and I will decide how those go. The only thing I ask is that we get a replica of the title belt. I want to sell her as a heel and a champion. The Diva's division in the WWE is dying, and I need the game stepped up." He said. I raised my eyebrow and shook my head.

"I'm not fighting women. I just won this." I said, pointing to my title belt. "If you think I'm going to be downgraded to that pink and purple mess of a belt, you must be joking. I love risking myself every night to fight men, and I will continue to do so. I can be 'sold' just the same, and so can my friend because like Adam said… she's my duo." I said.

Vince thought it over for a few moments. I couldn't tell if he liked my confidence or if he absolutely hated me because I was basically calling the shots, but it didn't take me long to realize that I had the bull by the horns. They wanted me in the company. They knew that I probably was like a select few people who was as stubborn as an ox and would not budge unless certain things were met in any form of contract, vocal or written.

"Think about it Vince. Think how much more of a female fan base you would have if a woman was at the top of the food chain, fighting men. With all of the domestic issues in the world today, maybe that's what people need to see. A woman who won't take anyone's shit and will fight back for something she believes in, especially when that woman is extremely opinionated and has a mind of her own…" I suggested as I looked up at Vince. He looked at Paul and Paul nodded.

"You were going to put her with Punk, weren't you?" He asked. Paul nodded again.

"You think you can handle working a microphone with CM Punk?" Vince asked as he looked back at me.

I laughed and nodded my head, taking my title from Tommy who had just gotten finished fastening my new nameplate onto my House of Hardcore Championship.

"Who do you think taught me everything I know?" I said with a smirk as I walked past Vince and left the office.


	3. The First Encounter

The first few weeks in developmental were brutal. Plans kept changing and Vince wanted me to get on the fans good side before he bumped me up to start doing my weekly promos on Raw. I was starting off as a face on NXT which was not a big problem in the slightest, but when I would go to Raw, the heel turn would be quicker than a whip being cracked. Although the time was tough, it paid off and I excelled quickly, becoming the "Queen of NXT."

Tommy was working on making a replica of the House of Hardcore championship that I needed to give up a week after I won it because of my contract, but I got to bring three things from the House with me on my journey to the WWE. A replica for storyline purposes would be coming with me, my partner in crime, Ember, and a pretty awesome and creative guy, Adam. He'd be helping to train Ember and I while we're on the road with the WWE and on top of that, it'll give him time to be with his girlfriend who was still in talks to come back to the business, Beth Phoenix.

NXT was somewhat crazy at times. Superstars from the main roster would always be there to give advice and compete in matches with some of the developmental talent. Storylines from the main shows would even carry down to the small depths of NXT. CM Punk and John Cena's rivalry came down to NXT after CM Punk had a tag team match with Seth Rollins, who is now on the main roster as well. It's different watching it all unfold from backstage and knowing in advance what will happen next, but there are also always little surprises.

Ember and I would always work together while at NXT. Like Adam had always said, we're a dynamic duo and we're not separated that easily. If I had a singles match, she'd be in my corner and it'd be the same if she had one. I remember one time, I had a mixed tag match and Zack Ryder was my partner. He's a great partner, really. My opponents were AJ Lee and Big E. Langston, both of which were working on the main roster although Big E is still with NXT. This was before he won the NXT Championship, so we're talking a few months back. Ember was in my corner to cheer us on as we competed. Now, the New Year had just started and it was the first show of 2013. I can't tell you who won the match because there was no winner. As I'm reaching over to Zack to tag me in so I could have a go at AJ, a familiar intercom voice played through the small NXT venue.

"Sierra. Hotel. Inda. Echo. Lima. Delta." I turned on the apron and Ember looked around before finally spotting them; the men known by the fans as The Shield. Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and the NXT Champion, Seth Rollins. I never understood why Seth would throw away a respectful title reign to 'fight injustice,' but well… he had what he wanted.

"Autumn, get out of here." Zack said as he turned my head to look at him. AJ had already left and Big E remained in the ring, staring down Seth and his title.

"No, I can help." I said to Zack.

"No Autumn. Get Ember and get out." He said before walking over to the middle of the ring.

Rolling my eyes, I stepped down from the apron and went to get Ember. When I spotted her, she was being backed into a corner by Dean Ambrose. Of the three Shield members, you would think Roman would be the most intimidating with his strength alone, but Dean had this freaky way of making you shiver that he intimidated anyone he got near. My corner was empty and Zack and Big E were taking care of Roman and Seth. I stood back up on the apron and with a running start; I tackled Dean to the ground from behind.

"Let's get out of here!" I said to Ember who was still looking down at Dean before finally following me. We ran to the backstage area and got confronted by AJ.

"Okay, number one, great effort in the match tonight. You really did do a great job. Number two, I obviously can't apologize on their behalf because those three are animals but I'm really sorry we didn't get a chance to finish our match tonight. Hopefully in the future, you and I can have a match and finish what we started out there. Sound good?" She said.

"Deal." I said and shook her hand before she ran off. I looked at Ember who was staying silent and still, something that was very unlike her. "What's wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, well, uh… why do you think they interfered tonight?" She asked me.

"I have no idea. They don't have anything going on with Zack or Big E for that matter. Maybe they just want to get to Dolph through Big E? I doubt it has anything to do with us…" I said, shrugging it off.

"But Autumn, he stalked me. Like, he didn't go for the ring and I didn't make my presence known when they came out. He just went for me right away… doesn't that seem odd to you?" I hesitated and looked around the backstage area. It did seem odd to me, but how could I not worry her? Ember isn't sensitive but I could tell she was a little creeped out by it all.

"It was a onetime thing, Ember. I honestly wouldn't take it to heart. He was probably thinking you'd get involved is all." I said with another shrug before shaking my head.

Ember hesitated, but came with me to the locker rooms to get changed. The next time we would be by the ring was on that Monday, where I would have another match with Zack against AJ and Dolph. My crown would stay backstage at NXT. Ember had a battle royal next week on Raw as well. It would be her first match on Raw as well as mine, and if she won that match, she'd get to fight for the Diva's title. Vince wanted to bring some Divas up from developmental, and we were the first two choices. It was nice and all, but I didn't want to let go of my reign so soon. I missed being the House of Hardcore champion because I chose to come here, and to have this title now was something that I didn't want to give up. I liked the target on my back, I loved the attention and I loved being on the top of my game.

We packed our bags and got ready to go to the hotel. Walking through the parking lot with Ember leading the way to the car, I noticed someone staring in the corner of my eye. That intimidation was back and I tried to not pay attention.


	4. Oh How The Tables Have Turned

Never have I been more frightened for an event in my life. Tonight was my first official televised event in history. Yes, people saw NXT, but NXT takes place in a place that is… well… not like Raw. Raw is the biggest show under a pay per view event and you want it to make a difference, especially if you're coming from developmental like Ember and I.

Speaking of Ember, I was lucky enough to be in the battle royal with her before the cameras began rolling. I was eliminated towards the middle of the bout, but that doesn't matter because my partner won! She'd be the first one of us two to get a fair shot at the Diva's title, and Kaitlyn seemed to be impressed with her competition.

My match would be up first. Raw hasn't had a mixed-tag team match in a while, but this would be my first appearance against AJ and Dolph. I'd be teaming with Zack and Ember would be backstage getting ready. The match was quick, unfortunately and the victors were not Zack and I. Big E. Langston interfered, Dolph got the pin while I chased AJ around the ring before getting cornered by E. Not the best starting point, but it is something.

Ember's match was later in the night and when I lose a match, I like to be alone. I like for everyone to leave me be, and Ember understood that my presence at her ringside would be scarce. I remained in mine and hers locker room, watching the TV as she walked out to the ring.

She was doing absolutely amazing. Every move that Kaitlyn did was countered by Ember, although they did go back and forth for a good while. It was a lengthy Diva's match, something the Universe was definitely craving for the longest.

Just as Ember was going for the pin, the lights went out in the arena, and I tilted my head, curious as to what was going on. The lights don't normally go out in the middle of a match unless it's someone like the Undertaker. When the lights went back on though, Kaitlyn was gone and Dean Ambrose was cornering Ember in the ring. She's not a stupid girl though. I watched her take out Roman and book it out of the ring, leaving her shirt behind when Dean tried to keep her inside.

I got myself dressed into appropriate clothing (I had taken a shower before Ember's match began and never changed) and went to go look for her. I opened the door and saw Sheamus and John Cena talking in the hallway.

"John! Sheamus! Could you give a girl a hand?"

"Sure, what's up?" John asked, Sheamus turning to look at me.

"You've met Ember, obviously. The Shield is kind of on her tails right now… could you help me look for her? She was really creeped when they showed up to NXT." I said, my eyes pleading. They gave in without a word and stormed off to look.

I ran in the other direction, looking around for any sight of her, but instead I found a panting Zack who was looking for me.

"Ember went in the other direction. They're following her!" He said, resting his hand on my shoulder.

"John and Sheamus went to look for her and them. Just relax. You did well, Zack." I said with a shake of my head as he leaned against a stack of crates.

I didn't hear from Ember for the rest of the night, and ended up riding with Zack to the Smackdown venue for Tuesday. My locker room would be shared with her as usual, and when the door opened and she had arrived, my eyes went wide. She looked fine, but that didn't spot my immediate questioning.

"Are you okay?! You totally just left after they spoke to you! Left me stranded but got a ride with Zack." I said. She nodded her head.

"I'm fine. They just… scared me a bit."

"What the hell did they want?" I asked. She looked down at the floor and I snapped my fingers to bring her back. "Em?"

"Nothing, they just wanted to get a rise out of scaring me. That's all." I laughed. I knew that was a lie.

"Bullshit. I've been your friend for nearly ten years, I can tell when you're lying to me or not."

"I'm serious. Look, let's just drop it okay. We need to get ready for tonight." She said as she put her stuff in front of a locker and began to change.

Sighing, I changed into my black and red "Harley Quinn-esque" ring attire. The red was dark and covered one leg, while black covered the other. My top was a corset of the same shade of red with a black built in bra showing. I always doubled up though to be safe. My boots went to the middle of my legs and had a little three diamond symbol like Harley's on the side. I have a slight obsession if you couldn't tell.

Ember and I were finally ready and as we walked to the curtains, I saw the three of them standing… waiting. It was as if they were just waiting for our match and waiting to ruin it. Ember could handle that shit, but not me. I don't take interruptions too well, especially if I'm on a roll in a match.

"If they fuck up our match tonight, Em… I swear I will lose my shit." I said to her.

"They won't… they better not." She said and we went to the ring as the music hit.

Our match was going great. We were up against Aksana and Alicia. Ember and I were on top of tagging one another in, and we kept both of them down, even though Aksana had her moments in the match. As Ember and I were about to pull off our double team move, that's when the familiar beginning sounds of the Shield's music played through the arena. We both looked around which wasn't the best decision on Ember or my part. I got the roundhouse kick from Alicia and was brought to the ground. She went for the pin as Ember went back to the turnbuckle and I kicked out. I wasn't going to end it like that. I got back up and Alicia hit me with her finisher and tried to pin. When I felt Ember break it, I knew she'd take care of the rest. I flung my arm over Alicia when I heard her hit the mat, and we won the match.

Ember fell down next to me. We didn't realize we were the only ones there until we felt the mat bounce. Looking around, I felt two sets of arms grab me and a hand cover my mouth. Roman and Seth had me in their grasp and brought me over to the corner. Dean grabbed a handful of Ember's hair, and I struggled more.

"Times ticking, spitfire...what your answer?" Dean said.

"I'll give you your answer, if you let her go. She has nothing to do with this." My head tilted and I shook Roman's hand off me.

"I have nothing to do with what?! Ember what is he talking about?!" I yelled.

"Oh, she doesn't even know? Some friend you are." Dean smirked. My eyebrows raised and I shook my head in confusion.

"Let her go, please."

"No." He pressed his cheek on the side of my head. "I want to see the look on her face when you finally give us that answer."

"Okay, you really want to know?" Ember said.

I was confused and the look on my face could probably hint that along with worry. What was going on? Is this why I didn't hear from her the night before? Then Ember shot me a wink and smiled. I had to play along. She stomped on Dean's foot and I took that as my go ahead. I kneed Roman in the crotch and turned to Seth, who I pulled in and kissed, leaving him with a dumbfounded and shocked look on his face.

"Get out of here! Go!" I heard Ember yell. I didn't want to, but I knew I had no choice in the matter. I got out of the ring before Roman could move, since I knew Seth would have if he wanted at that point.

I didn't hear most of the conversations going on, but when I turned to the ring, I saw Dean with his arm around Ember's waist. All I needed to hear was she was a member of the faction now, and that set me to complete plan mode. I went backstage and met up with Zack and John.

"What do we do?" I asked. Zack wrapped an arm around my shoulders and looked at John who was looking forward. The Shield and Ember were standing there.

"Let her go." John said, trying to reason.

"How about no? She's one of us now." My breathing began to get difficult, but I wouldn't show it. I stepped out of Zack's grasp and walked forward.

"She is not a part of anything. You have no right to force her into something that she doesn't belong in, you ignorant apes." I said.

"Autumn..." Ember said, looking at the ground.

"Let her go now, Ambrose."

"Or what?" Dean said.

"Oh you don't want know what I can do to you… physically and mentally." I said, smirking as I got closer.

"Auty, please." Ember said as she looked up now.

"I swear, you three are going to regret ever coming near her or me."

"AUTUMN! Stop!" Ember yelled. I gave her a look and tilted my head. "All you're just spewing is empty threats."

"What?!" I said. She of all people knew that when I said something, I'd find a way to do it.

"They asked me to join them and gave me time to think about their offer. And with all this time that was given me, my answer was going to be yes anyways." Ember said. My eyes widened and I felt Zack place a hand on my shoulder.

"Again, WHAT?! Have you gone mad?! Have you seen what these guys do for the stupidity they believe in?!" I swatted Zack's hand away and moved forward, Dean beginning to meet me halfway before Ember came between us.

"I can handle this." She said to Dean before turning to me. "Their belief isn't stupid. They're right. They showed me all the wrongs that have been done to me. Justice needs to be served."

"Ember...you can't be serious." I said, rolling my eyes as Dean held Ember close to him. She was petrified of the man less then seventy-two hours ago. What was all this?

"You best believe it, bro." Ember said and Seth started laughing. I looked over at him and gave him a glare before looking back at Ember. She gave me one of her looks. A look that I could tell I needed to play along with.

"You know what, that's okay."

"Auty, what are you talking about?" Zack said, looking down at me.

"If she wants to be with them, well then so be it. Just so you know, Em… you just lost a best friend. So when they're done and finished with you, which they will be, DO NOT come crying about this." I said as I grabbed Zack by the arm to leave. "Let's get out of here. The sight of them is starting to make me sick."

"Hey Autumn, it wouldn't be nice to leave me without a kiss. Don't you think?" Seth said. I stopped immediately and spun around. I let go of Zack's arm and walked towards Seth, a smile on my face.

He was much taller than I was, but I had a plan. I slid my hands up his vest as I approached him and pulled it so he was more towards my level. My face got closer to his with the sexiest smile I could come up with and before our lips could even connect, I elbowed him in the gut and let him go. The other two reacted and Ember came between us.

"I think its best that you leave right now." Ember said, and I felt another one of those looks. I played along and rolled my eyes before walking away with Zack.

I was silent the rest of the night. How was I going to get Ember out of this mess? I would have to really be strategic, and even that would be difficult. I needed to think up something, and I needed to do it quickly. Then, my thoughts traveled as I sat in the passenger seat of Zack's car. Something happened that is a mystery in my mind. I kissed Seth Rollins to get out of something, and he had a look of shock on his face. He asked for another kiss, and as I manipulated, he didn't even raise a finger. If I was going to get Ember out of this, I needed to do it from the inside and Seth may be that ticket to it.


	5. Making Plans And Taking Chances

The next few days were rough. Zack's company wasn't bad in any way, but the fact that I was no longer with my partner in crime was tough on me. Adam left the morning of Raw to go back to help Tommy at the House of Hardcore, so I was completely alone now.

Shows came and went, and I was still in the Shield's way of things. One thing was true though; Ember was right. All of my words were empty threats, and I needed to start coming up with a plan and quick. How I could do that though was the mind boggling part, and how could I make it… well… not too obvious before I needed it to be.

I sat down at the make-up area at NXT where all the Diva's got ready before a show. Cameron and Naomi were sitting at the far end, Kaitlyn was in the middle, then me and AJ was on my left. I was the only one being dolled up because despite being a Diva, I am the most unable person to make myself look good. I couldn't even tell you the difference between lipstick and lip gloss, which is saying a lot; so naturally I have someone to help me.

"So how does it feel to have no best friend like me?" I heard AJ say as she looked at my reflection in the mirror. Kaitlyn had her headphones in, so she couldn't hear a word.

"AJ, you chose that for yourself. Ember and I didn't choose this." I said as the person helping me walked off.

"True. But even though you and her didn't choose this, things and emotions change. She could actually end up liking it there." AJ said, moving her seat closer to mine.

"What are you trying to say, AJ? Get on with it." I said.

"Well… don't strain yourself to regain that friendship. She could be lost, and you're a good person with a good head. You're on top of your game. Don't let her or the Shield bring you down." She said, handing me my crown.

"You know… you're just as sane as I am." I said as I took the crown and placed it on top of my head.

Giving AJ a smile and receiving one in return, I hopped down from my chair and began to walk through the halls of NXT for my match. I was facing Paige tonight and she would be a tough opponent. Luckily, my crown wasn't on the line, but that didn't mean I could slack. Walking through the halls with my crown atop my head, I nodded and said hi to some of the people I normally worked with. Passing an open door, I felt a hand pull me into the room and I heard the door close behind me.

"What the fuck!" I said, rubbing my wrist before turning around. "What do you want?"

"Look, I just need you to listen to me for a second." Seth said, trying to keep my quiet.

"You have five minutes before I scream." I said, crossing my arms after readjusting the crown on my head.

"Sweet, okay. Well, first off I'm sorry for pulling you in here and leaving what looks like a pretty nasty bruise forming on your wrist." He said, taking me aback for a moment. I nodded and let him continue. "And I'm also sorry for kind of stealing your best friend. It wasn't my decision."

"Bullshit. I know how you three work. You're like an oiled machine that all work together for one single purpose. Now what is the real reason you dragged me in here?" I said. He sighed and looked around the room, scratching at the back of his neck.

"You really don't know?" He asked. I shook my head. "That kiss…" He began and I put up my hand to make him stop.

"Meant nothing. It was to distract you and get you the hell away from me. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a match, and if you and your little friends even think about doing anything funny, there won't be any kissing going on." I said, walking past him and out the door.

It was on his mind. He had actually been thinking about that kiss. I was trying to forget about it, and I thought I had done quite the good job of it, but I would be lying if I said that I didn't enjoy it. Yeah, I kissed Seth, but the kiss wasn't a peck. It was a forceful and well over three second kiss, and he did some of the work in that over three seconds because I would have pulled away after two.

Shaking off the thoughts, I walked through the curtain and out to the NXT audience. Paige was in the ring already and the crowd was already pumped up. I took off the crown and got down to business in the match, which was the first without anyone in my corner. Now Paige is one tough bitch, and is probably one of the best at NXT. She can fight and she can sell, which is always a great combination to have in an opponent. The bout went back and forth, but I finally got her down. Climbing the turnbuckle, I noticed someone standing at the top of the ramp. His arms were crossed and he was just watching, but the point is, was he was alone. Rolling my eyes, I saw Paige get up and I jumped, landing on her for the pin.

As my music hit, I looked back at the ramp and saw that Seth was still in the same stance before turning and leaving. I shook my head and took my crown from the ref before going backstage. I had my own locker room for the night and went inside, looking through my phone. A text or two from Ember to tell me she was alright and a text from a random number.

Soon finding out the number was Seth's and that he snuck it from Ember's phone, he mentioned the words to me that I was too afraid to mention to him; "I can help you." I took a shower and got ready to go back to the hotel, texting him along the way. We needed to plan and to come up with something, so against my better judgment, I agreed to meet him at the hotel. I went up to floor 1219 where my room was, and he'd meet me there. I told him my room number and as I arrived, I saw a man in a Taking Back Sunday hoodie standing outside my hotel room.

"Well well, you're very stealthy." I said, but he immediately shushed me and led me into the room. "Okay, we're out of sight, now what is this about?" I asked.

"I can help. I know you don't want Ember there, and I am afraid that being around Dean… I'm just afraid for her." He said. I raised my eyebrow and sat down on the bed.

"Look, for now, just keep her safe. If anything happens to my best friend… I may be empty threats now, but I will seriously go fucking insane. I know you won't do anything. Dean creeps me out. Roman… I don't think he'd do anything." I said, shrugging my shoulders.

"Roman wouldn't, and I wouldn't. I'll keep her safe." He said as he sat down on the bed next to me, taking off his hood. The silence began to get a little awkward and I looked over at him and nodded.

"Well, if that's it, you can go then. I'm exhausted, and I have a long night tomorrow before I get to finally go back to New York for a week and actually spend time with her." I said and stood up, walking to the door. He remained on my bed and looked up at me with his elbows resting on his knees.

"Alright." He said, nodding before standing up and walking over to me. "But… before I go there's just one thing I want to try and you can't freak out and kill me. I'm going to be helping, so just… humor me, alright?" He asked, looking down at me.

Leaning my back against the wall by the door, I nodded and crossed my arms. He stood directly in front of me and looked down with those brown eyes of his. Lifting his arm, he brushed the few strands of hair that had fallen on my face aside and placed a finger under my chin to make me look up. He seemed hesitant, but it still didn't stop him and eventually, his lips had met mine.

The kiss lingered for a moment before he pulled back, but he didn't move far. His forehead was placed against mine, his finger was still under my chin and he was quiet. I nudged my nose against his and he finally looked at me. We were quiet, but he knew I didn't mind the kiss since I pecked his lips one last time before turning to the door.

"So… what is this exactly?" He asked as he stood in the doorway, motioning to the two of us.

"We've kissed twice, Seth. Calm down." I said with a laugh. "Just… keep her safe. We'll worry about us when the time comes." I said, leaning my head against the door. He nodded and placed a final kiss on my lips before walking away.

I stood against the wall again and sank to the floor with a sigh. For the first time in days, my head was a little at ease, and I actually owed Seth. I couldn't get him off my mind, and I knew that moment would linger on my head for the rest of the night. I bit down on my lip and stood up before hearing someone clear their throat. It was him again.

"I forgot my phone. And you look like you've been given some sort of love potion out of Harry Potter. You alright?" He said with a smirk. I felt my skin turn red and I nodded my head.

"The fact that you like Harry Potter kind of makes me feel like I'm on a love potion right now." I said in a snap. My eyes widened and so did his. "I didn't just say that out loud, did I? Oh my god."

"I knew you had me on your mind. I knew it." He said with a laugh as he picked up his phone.

"How did you know?" I asked. He looked back at me as he stood by the door and shrugged his shoulders.

"You actually let me kiss you." He said before closing the door behind him. I walked over and locked it before walking to my bed where my phone was lit up. It was a text from him. "And you gave me a chance."


	6. A Case Of Mad Love

The week off went by terribly slow. Ember had Dean at her place, so seeing me wasn't really an option since he'd be staying until the break was over. I was talking to Seth non-stop to plan and work out this situation we were both coming up with; then I would text John and I would have to word it to make it like Seth wasn't helping.

The first Monday back, I didn't have a match. I had backstage work to do and I would be watching closely at John, Sheamus, and Ryback's match against The Shield. The Diva's area has TVs and monitors everywhere, so I'd watch as I was made up for the cameras. AJ was again at my side for the night.

"It's starting, Autumn." She said.

"AJ, it's not. She's not enjoying it there. She's… I don't know." I said, watching Ember on the screen. AJ looked at me and raised her brow before laughing.

"Aut, she is. Look at her, accepting that spotlight. When I first started out, I was just being innocent me, and then as time went along, I got a few more screws loose and I screwed over everyone to get where I am now. Now, Ziggy and I are happy and I still get the spotlight, no matter who I needed to screw over to get there. That's what she's doing." In ways, AJ made sense, but I didn't want to and forced myself to not believe it.

"Do you mind if we just… not talk about it? I don't want to think about the fact that eventually, I'm doing to have to face my best friend in a match and knock some sense into her." I said, looking at the TV as the match went along. I daydreamed about Seth as AJ spoke, and had to snap myself out of it a few times.

"Hey, I know you don't want to talk about it, but Ember just totally hit John and why I don't have any feelings towards the man anymore…. you should maybe go and talk to her about that." She said as she looked at me.

"Text me later and we'll talk more about everything. I'm going to go." I said, still zoned a bit before walking off.

Finding Ember was difficult since I never knew where The Shield went after a match. I didn't know how to get her attention without getting near Dean or Roman. I looked around quickly, going deep into the backstage areas where I figured they could be. Spotting Seth and Ember alone, I breathed a sigh of relief and looked around, hoping the other two wouldn't see me approaching them.

"Did anyone see you?" Ember said, looking around just as I was.

"I don't think anyone did." I said, looking around before looking at Seth. Nodding, I turned back to Ember. "Mind explaining to me what the fuck that was out there?"

"She did what she had to do Autumn. The last thing she needs right now is to look weak and I know if you were in her position, you would have done the exact same thing, your highness." Seth said, crossing his arms over his chest. I looked up at him, my jaw falling open after he spoke.

"Excuse me? What did yo-"

"Will you both stop? The last thing I need is someone seeing us together having a fight between best friends." Ember interrupted. I paused and immediately turned my head after what she had said clicked.

"Your what?"

"You heard that I said. We've gotten close over the past few weeks and he was there to get me through shit when you couldn't." She said. I stayed silent and mocked Seth's stance, crossing my arms over my chest. "Don't give me that, Auty."

"Give you what? I'm giving you nothing." I said, but soon heard Dean calling out for Ember. My eyes widened and I shifted them over to Seth.

"Shit… Ember, go!" Seth said.

"You aren't coming?"

"I need to take care of something here, just go." He said, and Ember looked between the two of us.

"Just don't be long, okay?" She said, and he nodded. Ember ran off and I looked over at Seth.

"Follow me." Seth said, walking down the hallway I came.

I kept peeking behind us to make sure we weren't followed and no one was around. Seth and I weren't exactly supposed to be seen together, so the risk of it could hurt me, him, Ember… and a bunch of other people depending on how Dean would take it. He pulled me into an empty locker room and shut the door behind me, locking it.

As he turned around, I caught him by surprise and pressed my lips to his. If we were having this brief moment of alone time, I was going to make the few minutes count. He didn't pull away, and his arms slithered around my waist; turning us so my back was pressed against the door. My hands slid up his vest and unhooked the buckles that were causing the extra room between us. I broke the kiss and looked up at him.

"You know, we can't stay in here forever." I said.

"You cut me off before I got a chance to tell you my hotel room for the night." He said with a smirk on his face. I bit down on my lip before pulling him down so his lips could linger against mine.

"How about this instead… meet me in room 714 on floor 14 of the hotel in one hour." I smirked against his lips before moving to open the door and leave.

I had one hour to get to the hotel, and tonight, I didn't have my own locker room. I was sharing with AJ and we were supposed to go to the hotel together. We were traveling together since Zack was on the other leg of the WWE Live tour that led up to Wrestlemania. I met back with her at the Diva's area.

"We need to go, pronto. Like now… like right now." I said, standing next to her chair as she looked up from her Batman comic book.

"Got a hot date?" She said as she looked back at her comic book, turning the page.

"No… kind of… I have to meet someone." I said, adjusting the hem of my shirt.

"You mean Seth?" She asked, not taking her eyes off the column about Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy. My eyes widened and I looked around, making sure no one heard. "I looked at your phone while you were sleeping in the car. Reese's? I am the queen of pet names, and it clicked pretty fast." She said, closing her comic. "Let's go. I'm a sucker for forbidden relationships."

I looked over at her, awestruck that she had figured it out. I was even more shocked that she wasn't saying anything to anyone about it.

"You haven't told anyone?"

"No, why would I? We're friends, and friends keep secrets. It's a natural thing." She said with a shrug as we walked to the locker room to collect our things. "Meet me by the car, I just have to say by to Ziggy and then we can go." She said, walking out of the room with her bags.

I walked to the car and waited for AJ and a few moments later, she was at the car. The hotel wasn't far although we did hit a little bit of traffic on the way there. When we arrived, I said my goodbyes to her and that we'd meet up the next morning at 10.

Getting upstairs to my room, I unlocked the door and put my things down. The room was dark and looking around, it seemed as if he wasn't here yet. I walked further into the room and felt a pair of hands grab my waist and turn me around. Seth pulled me closer to him, and I shook my head with a laugh.

"I honestly didn't think you were going to show." I said. He smirked and shrugged.

"Believe me, neither did I." He said as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Did anyone see you?"

"I was completely alone, I swear."

"Well… good." I said with a smirk. He returned the look and grabbed the back of my knees, and lifted me off the floor. I wrapped my legs around his waist and he leaned me against the wall.

"An hour felt like way too long for me to wait." He said.

Pulling my shirt up over my head, he pressed his lips to mine when he tossed the fabric to the floor. My fingers ran through his hair as his hands roamed my curves, the wall holding me for support. I moaned slightly into the kiss as my fingers laced through the blonde and dark brown locks of his hair. I pulled away quickly and looked at him, shaking my head.

"I'm sorry, I just… if Ember finds out about this, she'll kill me." I said. If AJ was easy to figure it out, Ember easily could.

"Kill you? Sweetheart, who's the best friend here?" He said.

"But you earned that yourself." I said. He cupped my cheeks and placed his lips on top of mine before pulling away.

"We can stop this right now if you want. I'll take my things and leave the room as if nothing ever happened." He said. My eyes widened and I shook my head.

"No!" I said, a frustrated groan following. I placed my head on his shoulder and began trailing small kisses on his neck. "This was never supposed to happen. Ever since the three of you interfered in my match on NXT…"

"Believe me, I know. Dean was only after her."

"Well… he got what he wanted."

"And I'll keep her safe. I promised her, and I promised you." He said, letting me down. I walked over to the bed and sat down, looking at the floor as I laughed to myself. "What?"

"This all started with a kiss." I said. I heard him chuckle and sit down beside me on the bed.

"You started it." I looked over at him and shoved him down on the bed. He took me with him and I lay down next to him.

"It was only to distract you and get you away. You were the one that kissed me back and made me think about it." I said, turning to look at him. "Then you go and kiss me again…" I said.

"Yeah." He said, placing his arms behind his head. "I have that effect on women." I hit his chest and he grabbed my wrist as I went to pull away. Pulling me on top of him, he tucked my hair back and looked up at me, sighing as he did so. "I just want you to know that I won't and I do not regret any of this."

"I won't either, I'm just afraid Seth. Being Ember's best friend, I know Dean already has a target on my back. I don't want to be the reason you three have issues and I ju-" I rambled until he finally cut me off with a kiss. I was talking more than I wanted, and that always happened when I got nervous but I was telling the truth. I didn't love Seth, but I liked him enough to care about him and worry about what would happen.

As my lips moved against his, I pulled at the hem of his shirt before slipping my hands under the fabric. He sat up and broke the kiss to take the shirt off before lying me back down on the bed. Placing a few kisses on my lips, he slowly moved down to my jawline and trailed to my neck and collarbone. I felt his hands moving down my body before reaching the button of my jeans. Nodding in response, he unbuttoned them and pulled them down my legs before pressing his lips to mine again. As things got more heated, the switch in my head went off and I pulled away, getting a sigh of relief in return.

"We're you thinking we were going too fast too?" I asked.

"I'm sorry. I just don't want to ruin anything with you by going too quickly. I want you to trust me first." He said, lying back down on the bed. I looked back at him and lay next to him, wrapping my arm around his waist as my head rested on his chest.

"Well… we can just lay here. I don't mind that." I said, looking up at him. He smiled and kissed the top of my head.

I was comfortable around Seth, but I was still freaking out. AJ knew, but what if anyone else found out? What would they say or think? What would happen to Seth and I; individually and together? It was worrisome to me, but I had told him the truth. I don't regret anything that's going on. Time just needs to play its course.


	7. Not All Changes Are Good

Seth woke me up at six in the morning, fully clothed and ready to start the day. Looking up at him and rubbing my eyes, I shook my head, silently telling him that I was not ready for this day at all.

"Seth, its 6:15, what gives?" I asked, my voice raspy.

"I have to go. I don't want the guys to see you and I didn't want to be that total asshole that leaves you a note, so I woke you." He said, placing a kiss on the top of my head.

"Alright, well… I'm going to go back to sleep because… sleep. Text me through the day, okay?" I said. He nodded and left with his bag.

I fell back onto the bed, pulling the covers over my body and laying in the spot where he was last night. Even though I was half asleep, I was hooked and my thoughts were racing. All of this happened quickly and we'd have to keep it a secret from everyone that we could, minus AJ who somehow had already figured out. I hugged the pillow and fell back to sleep.

A few hours later, I was being woken up by my phone ringing constantly. It was AJ and I had already had thirteen missed calls from her. I rubbed my eyes and stretched before actually picking up the phone.

"Hello?" I said in a groggy voice.

"Were you really still asleep? Did you have a long night, if you get what I mean?" AJ said on the other line.

"Shut it. Why are you calling me this early?" I asked.

"We have to leave soon, I figured I'd ask if you wanted food here or on the road." She said. I heard Dolph in the background. He'd be riding with us today.

"We can go on the road. It's fine with me." I said, sitting up in the bed to look around and make sure Seth took everything.

"Alright, well be ready in a half hour then. Bye!" She said before hanging up.

That gave me enough time to take a five minute shower, dry my hair and throw on some terrible looking clothing. I dragged myself off the bed and walked into the bathroom to turn on the water to the temperature I needed. The shower was longer than five minutes, so I needed to dry my hair quick and get dressed. If you are wondering why I'm actually trying to be on time… well… AJ is very hyper in the morning and if you're late, she's like a little Mexican jumping bean that's on the fritz.

Putting on a pair of yoga pants and an oversized t-shirt that Seth did leave behind (I'm assuming purposely), I put on my sneakers and opened the hotel room door to see AJ about to knock on it. She jumped back, causing Dolph to laugh to himself.

"You were almost over your grace period, Autumn." She said, smiling at me.

"Is she always like this in the morning? Is this something I need to get used to?" I looked at Dolph, who was still laughing. He just nodded and we walked downstairs and to the car that would take us to the next show.

The day went by quickly, but not quick enough. AJ went off to do things with Dolph backstage when we arrived at the arena, and I apparently had a match. No one told me against whom, and it was apparently a surprise opponent to get me on the fans good side even more than I already was. I assumed it would have actually been AJ, so I approached her.

"Hey, we finally get that rematch that we wanted, huh?" I said, taping my wrists up backstage.

"And people call me the crazy one…" She said, looking over at me. I was confused, was she not my opponent?

"You and I have a match tonight… right?" I asked.

"Nope, I'm just accompanying Ziggy tonight. That's the only thing on my agenda. I don't know who your match is against." She said and skipped off to Dolph who was standing in the doorway.

My match was next, and I went to the curtains to wait. I looked at the monitor and when I heard the familiar opening of The Shield's entrance, my heart sank. They were all there and I was completely alone. Ember was leaning against Dean in a corner, who was smirking and Roman and Seth were leaning against the ropes; waiting for the opponent as well. Apparently, they had no idea it was me either, because Seth would have warned me.

My music hit through the arena and I did my entrance on the ramp before walking down the ramp like I normally did. I sat up on the apron and went under the bottom rope to get in the ring and The Shield left the insides of the square, letting me finish atop the turnbuckle that Dean and Ember were standing against. My eyes flashed to the crowd, taking in the cheers and the yells before my eyes went and looked down at Seth. He didn't move his lips, but his general look told me that he was apologetic and I nodded my head before jumping down.

Ember stepped back into the ring and met me in the middle. We stood in front of one another as the referee tried to pull us apart before ringing the bell.

"I'm sorry, kid." She said, almost inaudibly.

"Yeah, I am too." I said.

I knew facing her would be a difficult task because she's my best friend, but she's also a difficult opponent. She's not an easy person for anyone to beat, and I'd know since I've trained with her this long. However, I did know enough of her weak spots to keep her down for a while. Her shoulders and knees were two of the places, but I focused more on the shoulder areas. It wasn't enough though and she eventually planted her finisher on me before getting the pin. Grabbing my head, she made me look at her.

"Get out of here, before they swarm you." She said. I pushed her down so she fell back and left the ring, where Dean, Seth and Roman were already closing in. I stood at the top of the ramp, holding my sides before motioning for one of the stagehands to give me a microphone.

"Hey idiots, don't think that any of this is over." I said when I finally got their attention. I pointed at Ember and smirked. "We'll get you soon." I said before dropping the microphone and walked backstage.

The atmosphere was mixed. People didn't know what I meant and Sheamus, Zack and John were the first people to question it.

"What did yeh mean out there, lass?" Sheamus asked me.

"Challenge The Shield to a match. John, I know you have Wrestlemania to worry about, so this doesn't pertain to you. Bet her as the 'prize,' and whoever wins, gets her." I said.

"And when do you expe-" John went to say before I heard Ember in the halls. I pulled her into our room and shut the door.

"What did you mean out there?" She asked.

"We're going to bet ye in a match." Sheamus said, proud that he knew the only part of the plan I had told him.

"And how do you expect him to do that? Seriously guys, come on." She said, crossing her arms. I raised my brow and tilted my head.

"You leave it to me, and just don't worry about it, okay?" I said, looking over at her.

"This I've got to see. Good luck with that." She said before leaving to go back with them.

The room was silent and my eyes were still fixed on the door she had just shut. Sheamus, John and Zack had called my name multiple times, but I didn't answer because I knew that in my head, everything AJ had told me was right. She was beginning to enjoy it and even change. She would have at least asked us what the full plan was, but she just scoffed and doubted it. I knew I was slowly losing my best friend.

"Autumn, hello! How are we going to do this?" John asked. I shook my head and looked at the three men looking back at me.

"Sheamus, find two partners. I have someone I need to talk to about it." I said and left the room. Zack followed me and tried to get me to tell him what was going on.

"How do you expect them to win? What's going through your head right now, Autumn?" He asked.

"Zack, just don't worry. I just need a few moments to clear my head, okay?" I said, and I walked off.

I didn't want to see anyone, nor talk to anyone. I just wanted to be alone and luckily there are many places you can be alone in an arena full of thousands of people. I stood in a hallway full of crates and boxes for the equipment, pacing back and forth. The tape on my wrists had been picked at and pulled, leaving some scratches from where I was trying to get it off as opposed to normally cutting it off. My fingers were running through my hair and pulling at it as I looked down at the floor. The hall was dark and very dimly lit, the blue walls making it just that much more dark and eerie to be alone in.

Pulling at my hair a little more, I looked around the hall before I just completely set myself off. All the thoughts in my head were enough to make me go absolutely mad. I began throwing and smashing crates and boxes. I threw chairs and flipped tables that were ready to be put away. The hallway looked like a tornado had hit it as I went further on my rampage. I suddenly felt a set of arms wrap around me and lift me off the ground. I screamed and kicked in the air until I was set down and my shoulders were held so I was looking forward at Seth.

"I'm here, calm down." He said.

I stared blankly before leaning forward to rest my head on his chest. My head turned to the side and saw the damage that I had done, and I didn't remember doing most of it. His arms wrapped around me and he fixed my hair as I slowly began to calm myself down.


	8. The White Plains Screwjob

The Road to Wrestlemania was wearing thin as the days and weeks passed by. Sheamus and Randy had decided that the Big Show was going to be their partner at Wrestlemania to take on The Shield. Ember's freedom from the faction was on the line, although I wasn't sure how much she wanted that anymore. AJ was going off on her own to try to eavesdrop on some conversations the four would have. Against my better judgment, I didn't stop her.

Seth and I were still sneaking our relation-whatever it was. We weren't official, which I didn't care about… at least I don't think I did? We slept together every night, sometimes clothed, sometimes semi-clothed; we were actually pretty innocent to be honest. Nothing sexual of course, and he constantly told me the same words – "We can't risk them finding out. I don't want anything happening to you." So I'll take that as a "he likes me so much, he can't be with me" type of thing.

The Sunday before Wrestlemania was Easter Sunday, and the night's house show was in White Plains, New York… Ember and I's home. The County Center was the place that her and I would always go to watch house shows and events before going to House of Hardcore together. My match that night was against Kaitlyn for the Diva's title. The match was my first official title match, and to have that in front of my hometown was amazing. I wasn't riding with AJ today since she was doing the Smackdown leg of the tour. Instead, I got to travel with Sheamus and Randy. It gave us a good chance to talk about some strategy for the next Sunday.

"So lass, what do ye think we should do bout all this? We got the big fella now, and with Randy and meself, I think we got a good chance, don't ye?" Sheamus said as Randy drove the car. I was in the back seat, looking out the windows.

"Man, I don't even think she's listening to you. We're in New York. Just let her take it all in." Randy said. I laughed a bit and he turned to look back at me as we reached a light. "Here, have fun kid." He said as he pressed a button that opened the sunroof of the car.

He began driving down the stoplightless stretch of road, his and Sheamus' music blaring out the windows. I smirked and unbuckled my seat belt to scoot into the middle seat. Standing up, I poked my head out of the sunroof and let the wind blow on my face and through my hair. This was my town and my home. I was going to dominate here tonight, one way or another.

I sat back down in the car as I saw the County Center in the distance. There were a few fans waiting outside, even though the weather was quite cold out. I waved at some of the faces I had seen at past shows before as Randy turned into a spot in the parking lot. Two men were waiting by the back door where we were supposed to enter, and after getting my bags and walking closer, I recognized them.

"Tommy! Adam! Oh my God!" I yelled as I dropped the handle on my suitcase and ran to them. Randy picked up my suitcase as I ran into the arms of his former tag team partner.

"How you been?" Adam asked as I gave Tommy a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"I've been… peachy." I said. I knew that regardless, I wouldn't be able to really lie to the two of them. Adam caught on quick.

"Hey Tom, I'm going to have a moment with Autumn. You guys go in. I got her suitcase and everything." He said. The others walked off and we stayed outside to talk for a few moments. "Haven't spoken to Ember, have you?" He said with crossed arms.

"Nope, and I'm convinced that she wants to stay there. I don't know what I should do, Adam. Do I go through with all of this just to have her unhappy, or do I not and just allow her to be someone I know she isn't? She's been acting different, and you know her… she didn't believe in doing any of the nonsense that she's doing now." I said as I paced back and forth outside.

"Well, you have to fight for what you think is right. That's what I always did, and to be completely honest, it wasn't always in the best interest of other people. It was for me. If you think that getting her out of this is right… do it. You also have to think about yourself in this situation, Autumn. Their main target is on you now because you started all of this."

"But it'll be on me if I get her out of it too." I said.

As he shrugged and began to speak again, the black tinted windowed car that was carrying the four members of The Shield arrived and parked at the far end of the parking lot. Roman got out of the driver's seat and Dean got out of the passenger seat. Seth and Ember got out of the back seat. I looked over at them and saw Ember glance over before walking inside with Dean. Seth lingered behind and looked down at his phone as Roman walked in behind the other two. I sighed and looked back at Adam.

"Should I walk you inside…? I don't like that he's just waiting." Adam said.

"No, he won't do anything to me. Trust me."

"Autumn, these guys won't hold back. They'll hurt you, they don't care." He said.

"Adam, if he touched me in a way that I didn't want him to, he'd have a lot to hear when he got to my hotel room later in the night… and it wouldn't be anything he'd WANT to hear if you're getting my drift here." I said. Adam looked back over at him and then back at me.

"I'm going to kill him anyways." He said. I let out a laugh and shook my head. "I'm walking you inside regardless. Let's go." He said.

I walked with him and looked over at Seth. I pointed at the door and he glanced up, nodding before returning to his phone. As soon as Adam closed the door behind us, my phone buzzed with a text from Seth.

"**He's going to kill me, isn't he?"**

I laughed and showed the text to Adam, who nodded and looked around at the seats all lined up for the venue. He left me to meet up with Tommy who was talking to Paul Heyman and I went to my locker room to get ready. Putting on my black, red, and white gear, I laced up my boots and began taping my wrists when I heard my door creak open. I turned my head and saw Seth there.

"Is it safe? No psycho ex-trainers here to murder me for waiting to get a word with you?" He said with a smirk.

"No, just me. Now get in here before someone sees you." I finished taping my wrists and threw the tape in my bag.

He walked inside and closed the door behind him. Sitting down on the bench, he pulled me over to him and wrapped his arms around my waist. We were eye level this way, and he placed his forehead against mine before placing a kiss to my lips.

"Are you nervous about tonight? It's your first title match in the actual WWE, not NXT." He said. I shrugged and looked down to adjust his vest.

"I'm always nervous before a match. I'm just more nervous because it's home. It doesn't feel like home, but it is." I said, fixing the pocket closer to his shoulder.

"You'll do fine. Even if you lose, it's a good step in the door and you'll have other opportunities. And you'll also have me to cry to later tonight. I booked our room." He said with a smile. It got me to laugh and I nodded before placing my forehead to his. "Good luck, okay?" He said before placing a longer kiss on my lips.

My match was next and I left the room first. He knew people would be lingering around and didn't want anyone to see us leave together. He'd leave in the middle of the match and watch from wherever he could. My theme music hit and I got an amazing reception from the crowd, which made me a little less nervous. Kaitlyn got an amazing reception too and we were both faces in this match. Shaking hands after the bell rang; we circled the ring before starting.

The match was mine for most of it. I had Kaitlyn exactly where I wanted her and if I could win this title the Sunday before Wrestlemania, I'd be on cloud nine, whether we got Ember out of that situation or not. As I went to hit one of my turnbuckle moves, I saw Ember walking through the crowd. Even Kaitlyn got distracted and shook her head. Ember stood back and watched. I hit my move and went for the pin, which Ember used the time to distract the referee.

"What the hell are you doing!?" I yelled as I moved away from Kaitlyn and went over to Ember.

"I'd pay attention if I were you." She smirked. I rolled my eyes and turned into a spear which knocked the wind out of me. Kaitlyn got the three count and I had lost the match.

She helped me up and lifted my arm in the air. I turned and noticed Ember smirking as she walked towards the curtain. Rolling out of the ring, I began running towards her, causing her to run away. I knew the backstage area like the back of my hand already and I knew the perfect place to stop her. I turned a corner early and as she went to turn another, I met her and slammed her against a wall.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? WHAT IS GOING THROUGH THAT HEAD?" I yelled. I felt a pair of arms hold me back as Dean and Roman stood by her side. I struggled in Seth's grip.

"Oh you lost one little match, relax."

"One… little… MATCH? That was for the title, you fucking idiot! You know how much that means to me!"

"That's funny. Ever thought about what that meant to me?" She said. I stopped struggling and stood there, shaking my head.

"Who are you? This isn't you anymore, Em."

"How would you know? The limelight was always on you. Did you ever think how that made me feel? Standing in your shadow as you won everything? What's one loss? You probably have a rematch at Wrestlemania." She said. I shoved Seth off of me and glared at Dean.

"You're going to pay for this. Sunday. She'll be gone and that stupid smirk will finally get wiped off that face." I said to him before storming off. I didn't even look back at Seth. After a few moments, I took my time and went to my locker room. I saw Adam waiting outside. "I honestly want to be left alone, Adam." I said, shaking my head.

"That won't stop him." He said as he pointed to a darker hallway where Seth was standing. I sighed and shook my head.

"And what are you doing here?" I said to him.

"I wanted to make sure you were alright." He said, looking down at the ground in the same stance Adam was standing in; crossed arms and one foot over the other.

"I'm fine. Both of you… I'm okay. I just want to bathe and go to the hotel and sleep. If I come in contact with any human that reminds me of her, I swear I will go nuts, so please… just leave me alone." I said in the calmest voice that I could.

"Room 13, floor 7." Seth said before walking away. I turned back to Adam and looked up at him.

"I'll be at Axxess." He said, nodding his head. He knew when I wanted to be alone, I needed to be alone.

"I'll see you there." I said before giving him a kiss on the cheek.

I walked into my locker room and immediately went into the showers to get rid of every bad thought I had in my head. I got dressed, put on a hoodie and waited for Randy to drive Sheamus and I to the hotel. I was silent and exhausted on the way back and before I walked up to my room, Randy gave me a sympathetic "sorry" and gave me a hug goodnight.

Opening the door to the hotel room, I put my bags down and took off my hoodie. I was wearing another of Seth's shirts which he noticed when he turned over in the bed. He pulled down some of the covers, motioning for me to join him and I crawled into the bed, wrapping my arms around his waist. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and let me stay silent until I slept.


	9. The Wrestlemania Moment

Have you ever experienced that moment when you finally realized that you successfully achieved all of your dreams and goals? You just got to take in that exact moment as the emotions overtook you? I have never really experienced it. Granted, I've made it to where I am now… WWE Diva with a Diva's title match at Wrestlemania, but I haven't gotten to take in the moment yet. Wrestlemania is later tonight and at the moment, the only thing I'm taking in is nerves.

My wrists were tapped, my boots were laced up and my attire was its usual black, white and red look. Everything was like a normal show should go, but it was more nerve wrecking. Wrestlemania at Metlife Stadium, a New York/New Jersey theme; people like Trish Stratus and Bruno Sammartino are walking around backstage… and I have to fight in front of over seventy thousand people.

I paced back and forth backstage as I watched The Shield's match. They won and Ember kissed Dean in the middle of the ring. I rolled my eyes and left my locker room to walk around backstage. People were wishing me luck and were telling me I'd do great. I even met up with Kaitlyn, who told me she was excited for our match and that I was a good opponent.

I walked to a hallway where no one would really be around to do my stretches. I liked being alone at this time so I could clear my head and think, and anyone that normally came around me at this time would be shoo'd away in a heartbeat. I found an open doorway and lifted my leg to stretch against it. My legs were small, but I was also very flexible. My stretch list consisted of a vertical split, a bridge and a few hand and headstands against the walls and crates. Most of these stretches made my legs some of the most lethal things when I fought, which would explain why people would try to hurt them first. As I held my leg up, closed my eyes and counted to sixty, I heard a set of heavy footsteps coming down my hallway.

"Whoever you are, you know I like to be alone right now." I said with my eyes still closed.

"Well, that's no way to talk to a one-time Wrestlemania winner!" Seth said as he sat down on one of the crates. He was fidgeting like a little kid when I opened my eyes, and I shook my head before switching legs.

"I saw that, congrats." I said, beginning to count to sixty again.

"Look, I'm sorry. I know I was supposed to throw it, but I didn't get the pinfall. Dean did. If it was up to me, I would have." He explained.

"Seth, its fine, I saw the match. I'll just keep betting my guys until you guys fess up, you know it." I said, taking my leg down to stand on my two feet.

"You don't give up, do you?" Seth asked. I looked up at him and shrugged my shoulders.

"I've tried before, but people don't like when I do." I said, looking around the hall. "Look, I got to go. My match is soon." I said before moving over to him to place a kiss on his cheek. Smiling, I walked down the hall and ran my fingers through my hair. "Not now, Autumn. Not now. Don't think of all this now." I mumbled as I walked through the backstage area to the curtain area.

Kaitlyn's music went off first and she'd make that long walk to the ring before I would need to. I took a deep breath and shook all the bad thoughts out of my head as my music hit. Nodding my head, I walked into the lights to all of Metlife Stadium on their feet. The crowd was electric and it was enough to stop me in my tracks. I stood there for a moment, taking in the scene before walking down the ramp and doing my ring entrance like I always did.

The ref held up the title in the middle of the ring and brought it to the corner where he motioned for the bell to ring. Nodding at Kaitlyn, we did our first lock up and the match begun. She had the upper hand for a good chunk of the match until The Shield's music hit and I saw Ember and Seth walking to the ring. Kaitlyn looked at me with frustration and I just shook my head, motioning to continue the match. Ember would try to get close to the ring, causing both of us to get distracted. At one point, Kaitlyn started yelling and motioning to Ember and I got the upper hand. I performed my finisher; a move against the ropes where I take the arm of my opponent, do a back flip and end with a kick to the head. I got the three count and lay back in the ring, realizing that I had won.

The referee handed me the title and I held it in my hands, admiring the belt against the lights of the stadium and the natural light from the sky. I stood up in the ring and turned to see Ember in the ring with me. Seth was waiting outside the ring.

"I just wanted to congratulate you, kid! You finally did it!" She said, opening her arms for a hug.

In all honesty, I knew something fishy was going on, but I missed the embraces and moments like this that her and I used to share that I gave in and hugged her. She ended up kicking me in the gut and DDTing me to the mat. Everything after that was fuzzy, but I knew that she was there for the title. I was the champion now and it was expected, but that didn't mean that it didn't infuriate me. I got up in the middle of the ring and took my title to walk to the backstage area. I was welcomed by Zack, Sheamus, Randy and AJ who was creeping in the corner.

"You won! I'm so happy for you!" Zack said, giving me a big hug.

"Yeh, at least one of us won 'ere at the big show." Sheamus said.

"Don't. Say. Big Show." Randy said, rubbing the side of his face. I sighed and shook my head, thanking all of them before walking over to AJ.

"I suppose you're going to DDT me too, since I won this…" I said with a laugh as I placed it on my shoulder.

"Nope, I'm not. I'm actually very proud of you. You went from being in a different company, going to NXT to be the Queen of NXT and then this. You've done so much, and it's something that friends should be proud of." She said with a genuine smile.

"So, we're like… friends, right?" I said with a smile.

"Since you don't have a best friend anymore, and neither do I… I figured we could fill the void for one another." She said before linking her arm with mine to walk me to get the new name plate on my belt. "Hey, I have to go. Ziggy just texted me and the match is next. I'll see you probably tomorrow! Congrats again, Aut." AJ said before skipping out of the room.

Turning back to the person who was screwing on the last part of the name plate, I felt a cold sensation on the back of my neck. Turning around, I saw Seth holding his arms up with an ice pack in one of them. Snatching it from him, I put it on the back of my neck where he had it and turned back to the man who handed me the belt. I thanked him and began walking.

"So, you think an ice pack is going to make up for what you let her do?" I said as Seth walked behind me.

"Autumn, come on. You know I can't get between the two of you guys." He said. I let out a sigh and turned to look at him. "I just wanted to congratulate you. You deserve that as much as anyone." He said, pointing to the belt.

"Thanks." I said, rubbing the back of my neck with the thin pack.

"I'll meet you at the hotel. Same room as last night, okay?" He said, placing a kiss to my forehead before walking away.

I went to my locker room, put down the belt and took my shower before getting changed. By the time I was done, the match between John and the Rock had just begun. I figured I'd leave and try to get some sleep when I got back to the hotel. I took a car and went to the New York City hotel, which took a total of two hours to get to with the route I took.

Finally lugging my bags to the room, I unlocked the door and placed my bag in a corner with the title on top of it. Seth's bag was in the room, so I knew he'd be around and as I walked to the bathroom, the door opened to him in a towel.

"Okay, well I didn't know you were in there, I am just going to go and… sorry." I said, muffling over my words as I began to walk away.

"Relax, you've slept with me in nothing but my boxers and you saw me in a speedo in NXT. I think you're okay." He said with a laugh.

"You're naked under there, Seth." I said, turning around to look at him. My eyes struggled to stay on his face and he knew that I was having a hard time.

"And? You say that like it's a problem." He said, shrugging his shoulders.

He began to walk closer to me, causing me to back up until my knees hit the back of the bed. His hands traveled up my waist to lift the shirt I was wearing. I looked up at him as his eyes looked down into mine. Nothing was really holding me back. I'd thought about it before… I'd just never gone through with it. I sleep with the man every night and I kiss him every morning before he has to leave.

After debating in my head, I reached up to press my lips to his. The kiss was deep, yet loving… but it was also one of those hungry kisses where you just want the other person to stop fucking around. I felt my back hit the bed as he crawled on top of me, his lips still connected with mine. His fingers played with my belt before finally unhooking it and after he unbuttoned my jeans, I helped him slide them down my legs, leaving me in my bra and panties.

As his lips moved to my neck, I felt his hands begin to roam the curves of my body. He moved them down my back, unhooking my bra in the process so it hung loose on my arms, before moving them down my waist. I felt one finger on each hand hook into the sides of my panties, his lips forming a smirk against my skin as he pulled them down my legs, leaving me completely naked in front of him. He moved his lips from my neck and down my chest, his hands groping and giving my breasts attention as his lips moved further down. His hands moved from my breasts and as I sat up to look at why he stopped, I felt a finger push inside of me. I let out a small gasp as his finger moved at a quick enough pace. He soon added another finger, causing me to let out a slight moan as I fell back on the bed.

"Se-Seth, enough with the teasing!"

"Tell me you want me." He said, looking down at me as his fingers moved at a slower pace. "Say it."

"I want you!" I said, which resembled more of a yell. Smirking, he removed the towel around his waist and pushed himself into me slowly. I let out another moan and then my eyes shot open and I lifted myself on my arms. "Whoa there, wa-"

"I was prepared, calm down." He said, his forehead pressing to mine.

"You planned this?" I said, shaking my head.

"You're complaining?" He said with the same smirk on his face as he pushed himself into me further. My eyes fluttered shut as I shook my head.

The thrusts started out slowly as he hovered himself over me. I wrapped my legs around his waist as his pace began to quicken while my hands pulled at the sheets on the bed. My lips connected with his to keep my moans from turning into louder mini-screams, but he decided against it and moved his lips to my neck. My hips moved in rhythm with his as my hands moved to his arms, scratching my nails down them to leave a faint mark for the morning. The feeling began to take me over as I felt my peak beginning to come closer. My moaning became louder and with one last thrust, my peak hit. He followed shortly after as his thrusting slowed down before stopping completely. I looked over at him as he moved to lie down next to me. He kept his face close to my shoulder, his lips peppering small kisses along the skin.

"Hey Autumn…" He said as he moved so my head could rest on his chest.

"Hmm?"

"I think we have a problem."

"What?"

"Well, remember how none of this was supposed to happen? And a kiss led to all of this?" He said.

"Yeah…" I said, looking up at him.

"It may be getting to that point where we don't know what to do." He said, shrugging his shoulders.

"What do you mean?" I asked. He hesitated before letting out a sigh.

"I'm crazy about you. And it's getting to that point where I think I'm falli-" He said before I reached up to break him off with a kiss. I let my lips linger there before pulling away and shaking my head.

"I know. But well…"

"Well what?"

"It's a mutual feeling. And I'm not complaining."


	10. All The Things She Said

I woke up the next morning with my head on Seth's chest. He was sound asleep, and was in no hurry to rush out of the hotel that morning. Normally, he'd get up two hours before he needed to so he could do some lifting before coming back to see me before he needed to leave. His morning schedule to keep me a secret was risky, and Roman's almost caught me in bed a few times through the doorway but overall, no one knows. This morning, he didn't move and he was right where I had left him; with his arm firmly around my waist and both of mine around his.

The sun was poking into the blinds on the hotel window and it was slowly rising. The clock read 6:05 AM and was set to wake us both up at 7:30. He was meant to leave at noon, but he and I needed to discuss final plans for his match on Raw. Sheamus was going to give it another go against The Shield with Randy and John as his partner to try and win Ember back. It was going to be my job to make sure that Seth was the legal man and to distract Dean and Roman, as well as Ember. I had a night ahead of me.

I didn't want to move until we needed to be woken up, but the sun was brightening and would not let me fall back into my slumber. I was forced awake, but I had good enough entertainment. Seth mumbles in his sleep. Sometimes it's sweet nothings, sometimes it's hilarious Harry Potter fantasies, but this morning, he was just mumbling. Some words I could make out and some I couldn't.

As my fingers traced over his skin lightly, I felt him begin to move a little before turning his head. His eyes were half open and half closed and his hair was frizzy and all over the place. I'd always been the one to wake up to Seth and this morning; I was actually watching him wake up. It sounds creepy that way, but there's something about watching the guy you… like, wake up.

"Good morning sleepy head." I said, before placing a kiss to his cheek. I nuzzled my head back on his shoulder and he placed his lips to my forehead before pulling away.

"Good morning, beautiful." He said in his still sleepy voice.

After a few moments of lying down and just talking, we finally decided to get up and take our showers. I took mine first and then he went in after me. We still had a few hours to kill before noon, which was when Roman would arrive to pick him up.

"So what's the game plan for tonight?" I asked as I organized and packed my suitcase. I felt his arms wrap around my waist and his facial hair brush against my neck.

"Well, I could think of a few things…" He said before placing a kiss on my skin. I turned my head to look at him and let out a laugh.

"Okay, I meant a few hours before that. The match, Seth."

"I'm going to throw it. Everything is worked out, don't worry. I know you'll be ringside… just whatever you do, stay away from Dean. I don't want him hurting you." He said as he placed another kiss to the side of my head before returning to his bag.

I knew that Adam was in the building for the night and I knew he'd be on commentary with Michael, Jerry and JBL during the match. The fans knew Ember and I's history and they knew that he was heavily involved in getting us both to the WWE. He was going to catch up with some of his friends while I stayed with Sheamus, John and Randy backstage as they came up with a plan.

"Alright, so here's how we should go about this. Autumn can take care of Ember to distract her. John, you take care of Roman. Sheamus, you get Ambrose since you asked for the rematch and he's got the biggest hold on Ember. I'll distract Rollins. It shouldn't be too difficult; he doesn't seem like the brightest bulb out of the three of them." Randy said. My head shot up and gave him a look.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"Why are you getting defensive?" Randy asked, raising his brow.

"I'm not. I'm just saying… all three of those guys, no matter how much I dislike them are smart motherfuckers. They've managed to pick their targets carefully and they're undefeated. Let's not forget that the bimbo you're mentioning was also the first ever NXT Champion. He's been named one of the 'people to look out for' for the year of 2013, as has Ambrose and Reigns. Don't take him lightly and don't get cocky. Tell those voices of yours that I need my best friend back, and if they tell you the wrong thing that I will personally figure out a way to end them from ever speaking again." I said before taking my title and leaving their locker room.

Their match was next and as promised, Adam was on commentary. I saw Dean eyeing him and I saw Ember push him back, telling him that he wasn't allowed to touch him. My entrance music went first for the faces and I waited as the three came to the ring. I shared a look with Seth before the bell rang and the match was underway.

The Shield looked amazing as usual. All in sync, they looked like a machine in the ring. Constant tags and constantly staying on top of their opponents, they were able to quickly wear out whoever was in the ring. I watched closely at ringside, focusing on the match. My eyes would shift. From Randy and Dean who were legal to Seth. Then to Roman and then to Seth, and then to John and Roman again and then to Seth. My face remained with the same expression throughout it so no one could read anything I was feeling in the moment.

I saw Sheamus and Randy come out of the ring to attack Dean and Roman while Seth and John duked it out in the ring. Ember went to run and quickly thinking, I threw my title down and ran towards her, holding her back from the men. Looking over at the ring, I saw Seth receive the AA before John pinned him. I let Ember go and went to go get my title as John took her up the ramp. I walked up last after Sheamus and Randy and turned back to the ring. Dean had a look on his face that I could look at forever. Roman was emotionless, and Seth was holding his back and looking up the ramp. I placed my hand over my lips before blowing the three men a kiss as I arrived on the stage.

We went backstage to my dressing room where the three were celebrating. Zack and Adam came in and joined in on the party as well. I had a smile from ear to ear as I looked at Ember. She looked indifferent and kind of miserable.

"Are you okay?" I asked as I tilted my head.

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure? I know that look, Em." I said.

"Mhmm, I'm good." She said.

"Well, then let's celebrate!" I said with a smile as I jumped up and down.

"I'm not in the mood to right now. Thanks." She said as she placed a hand on my shoulder that didn't have my title slung over it.

"Thanks? THANKS? Are you fucking serious right now? That's all you have to say to me?" I said before it finally clicked. "Oh my god. You actually…"

"I what? Look, I'm going to go to the hotel and get some sleep. I'll see you later." She said before leaving the locker room.

I stood there… baffled. The room went silent as the men behind me stared at me staring at the door she just left out of. My belt moved from my shoulder to me barely being able to hold it in my hand. I bit down on my tongue as a closed my eyes and let out a sigh.

"Hey Aut…" Adam said.

"Hm?" I mumbled.

"I think there's someone you need to go talk to before you go into one of your little paths of destruction." He said.

"Who would that be?" I asked.

"You know who. Go, now. Talk to Ember tomorrow." He said.

"Wait, who is she going to talk to, man?" John asked him.

"That's her business." Adam said in a firm tone before telling me to leave again.

I left the locker room and walked down the hallway, only to be pulled into another locker room. Seth wrapped his arms around my waist tightly and pressed his lips to the top of my head before looking down at me.

"I got your text, what happened?" He asked.

"My text? What are you talking about?" I asked. He showed me his phone and I didn't send any of the texts. It took me a few minutes to realize I also didn't have my phone.

"So, Adam texted you for me… I'm going to kill him." I said, nodding my head.

"Well, something happened. What?" He asked me.

"Can we just… not talk about it? I want to forget all of it, really." I said, leaning my forehead against his chest. He let out a sigh and nodded before picking my chin up.

"For you? Alright." He said before pecking my lips. "I'll meet you at the room, okay?"

"As always." I nodded before letting him leave the room to get ready.

I needed and wanted to just be alone for a little while. My thoughts were racing and wouldn't stop. Ember liked being there. Part of me always knew, but with all of the things she's said and done to me, you would think… and I would think that I'd get more than a 'thanks.' I thought maybe an apology… or a hug… something more appropriate. Then it really hit me. She didn't care about being a member of The Shield. I saw the look on Dean's face compared to the faces of Roman and Seth. Dean was fuming pissed, and the look on Ember's face was a look of shock. She didn't love The Shield, she loved Dean.


	11. The Weight Of The World On Her Shoulders

I wondered if the few weeks I had Ember back to myself were as awkward for her as they were for me. I never thought the friendship we had build for years was all going to shit because a guy was coming between us. That's something that I thought you'd hear in some stupid movie, but it was actually happening. The fact that she let him change her and the fact that she wouldn't tell me about it was what was coming between us. Granted, I was lying to her about being with Seth, but I don't even know if I love the man. I'm crazy about him, but… I don't know. I've been in love once and that went to shit – hence my turning to actually following my dreams and not holding back. I always imagine him when I'm fighting, and it makes my moves hurt that much more.

We kept getting tag team matches together, which weren't bad. The dynamic duo was back and as always, we were kickass in the ring. Awkward or not, you couldn't deny that the in-ring chemistry between Ember and I would always work. Tonight we had a match with Kaitlyn against Tamina and the Bella Twins. Despite my friendship with AJ, Kaitlyn and I agreed that we had a match to take care of. Kaitlyn never did anything wrong to me, although AJ wasn't happy about the match at all and insisted it should have been her in the ring instead.

We entered the ring and I gave my title to the referee as everyone else did their entrances. The Twins followed Tamina out and per usual, they were yelling a bunch of gibberish that no one even wanted to listen to. I turned to discuss a mini-game plan with Kaitlyn before I heard something that I had hoped I heard incorrectly.

"Dean is better off with a real woman anyways!" One of the Twins yelled.

Turning around, I immediately saw Ember going through the ropes to shoo me out of the ring. I was going to start the match, but she insisted and I didn't stop her. The bitch had it coming. I know how Ember gets with things she likes. I suppose Dean would be no different. The bell rang and Ember went ballistic. Kaitlyn and I looked at one another and back at Ember before deciding we needed to get her off the Twin.

She pushed us back when we tried to grab her and left the ring. She left us there, and the match turned to a handicap. Kaitlyn and I won, but I was not a pleased person. I snatched my belt and stormed to the backstage area. I don't care how much you love a guy or care about something. In that ring, when you are with me… you're all business because I'm all business. Hollow out your shit before you go in.

I stormed down the hallway and walked into our locker room, slamming the door behind me. I glared at Ember, shaking my head before throwing my belt down on a table. I paced back and forth, which I normally did so I could calm myself down before I absolutely went off. I didn't want to yell at anyone, normally; especially Ember.

"What the fuck was that out there Ember? You nearly knocked her out and then left us out there! It turned into a handicap match."

"Did you win it?"

"Yeah."

"Then there's no reason to complain then." She said as she went through her bag for her phone. I did not have the fucking patience for this. It's not the fact that I was complaining. It was the fact that you don't leave your partner. Even her precious boyfriend knows that.

"What even happened that you let loose on her?" I asked.

"I just don't like her. Never did." Bullshit. Well, not bullshit, but bullshit. I heard what she said. She looked down at her phone and I crossed my arms before rolling my eyes.

"Going to text Dean?" I asked, coldness in my voice. I wasn't that stupid, and she of all people would know that.

"What?"

"I know Ember, for the love of god. Do you think I'm an idiot? Ever since you've been back, you've been so distant."

"We've won all of our matches, haven't we? Doesn't seem so distant." She said.

"That's not the point. You're making it seem as if…"

"As if what?"

"You enjoyed it, Ember. I know you did. Why didn't you tell me instead of me wasting my time getting you out of that mess? I had to find this out on my own." I said. I was hurt, yeah. But I wouldn't uncross my arms or put down my front.

"Who told you?" She asked.

"I told you, I fou-"

"You didn't find this out on your fucking own. You're smart, Autumn, but for shit like that, it flies over your head. Now, who told you?" She asked again. I did find out on my own, but if she wanted me to play the blame game… sure.

"I have my sources."

"Please enlighten me with your sources. Oh wait, no. I know who it is. It's that little psycho you've become friends with isn't it. Not sure how she can be your spy because she doesn't know jack shit." And right into the trap she falls. "I'm a waste of your time, huh? No matter how many times I had to explain to Adam about us being here together. I knew I had a gut feeling about all of this because everything is about you or it's supposed to be." Ouch.

"You're being ungrateful." I said.

"Really? I think I'm just being realistic about this situation." She said as she looked down at her phone. Giving a smile and looking back up at me, I only figured it was Dean. "Since I'm not needed here anymore tonight, I'm going to skedaddle. Don't you have commentary to do?" She said, walking past me.

I turned to look at the door as she left. I didn't expect her to come back, but she had a habit of walking out on me. Right now, this was all the Ember Lee show. If things were all about me, I would have been the one taken by The Shield. I'd be the one with the bigger controversy. I have a title, but that's because I had my own bullshit to take care of.

Speaking of bullshit… a certain someone had lied to me. She fucking liked it there, I'm sure Seth knew. Why would he have even lied to me about it though? As I began to question myself, that butterfly feeling in my stomach that I normally had when I thought of him became more of a sick feeling; it was like I wanted to vomit. As if on cue, following my nausea came that flood of anger. He knew about Dean and her; he knew and didn't tell me that.

I decided to skip commentary and go straight to the hotel. I decided that I was going to confront him about the manner because I didn't know how much of everything else was a lie. How much could one girl take? I threw my bags into my own room, deciding that I didn't want a room with Seth tonight. I went into the elevator and waited to go up to his floor and as the doors opened on one of the floors, there he was. I pushed him to the ground with all my force and he landed with an "oof."

"Hello to you too." He said, standing up.

"Go fuck yourself." I said, glaring up at him.

"What did I do?" He said with the cutest of puzzled looks on his face. He made it difficult for me to be angry.

"What did you do…" I scoffed. " YOU FUCKING LIED TO ME ABOUT EMBER!" I yelled before he placed his hand over my mouth. I began to swat them away but he grabbed them and got down to my level to look directly into my eyes.

"Both of them are on this floor. The walls aren't sound proof and your voice travels. Let's take this to my room so we can talk like normal people, please?" He said. Those fucking eyes had it. They had that magic that made me do anything he'd want because I agreed.

"Fine." I mumbled, following him up to his room. He opened the door and I walked in first with my arms folded across my chest. "Well?!" I said, looking back at him.

"I'm sorry." He said. I scoffed and paced back and forth.

"I trusted you, Seth. You made me a promise."

"I promised you that she would be safe, Autumn. She was, and I kept my end of the deal. I can't keep her the same and I never promised her that. That's her own situation." He said.

"I wasted my time with you. I wasted my goddamned time to get her back just to find out she never wanted that at all!" I said. I looked over at him and saw that his head had shot up. I realized what I said and I realized that I immediately regretted it.

"Wasted your time, huh? Every fucking thing Ember told me about you… I would quickly defend you and tell her she was wrong and that you weren't that type of person because I knew you. I should have believed her. We're all but wasted time in your eyes. Guess you only wanted me to get to her." He said. My arms dropped to my side and I began to shake my head.

"No, Seth that wasn't what I mean-"

"No, that's alright. You've said enough _kid."_ He said and sat down on the edge of his bed. He began cracking his knuckles. "You didn't have to make me express my feelings to you. You just did whatever you would to get it out of me." He said. My eyes began to water. "I think we're done here."

"No! Seth that wasn't what I meant! The past couple of weeks… I've meant that!" I said, moving closer to him. I went to put my arms around him but he got up and walked to the door.

"I'm only wasting your time Autumn. Let me prevent that for you." He said as he opened the door. I choked up a sob and walked over to him, looking up at him once more before I walked out the door. He slammed it and the tears were uncontrollable.

I ran down the hallway, knocking into someone on my way and without apologizing or even looking at the person, I kept running to my room. I opened the door and shut it behind me before falling down onto my bed. I pulled the covers over my body and continued to cry until I fell into a slumber. That was the last night I fell asleep in his clothes.


	12. A Tour Without Support

"He's calling me again." I mumbled as I looked down at my cell phone while sitting in the back seat of the rent-a-car that Dolph was driving. AJ sat in the passenger's seat.

"Who's calling?" Dolph asked, looking in the rear-view mirror.

"No one, Ziggypuff. Autumn, don't answer it." AJ said, looking back at me.

"But why not? This is the fourth time he's called. What if he needs me?" I asked, my finger hovering over the green answer button.

"If he needed you, he wouldn't have said the things he said to you. He shouldn't think it's alright to just shatter a girl's heart and try to run back. Has he learned nothing from watching my experiences with men? Seriously, you can do better." She said.

I let the call go to voicemail, and a few seconds later, I got the notification that he'd left one. I'd listen to it later over and over because I had missed his voice. It was something I was so used to hearing in the morning that my entire routine was out of whack. As we pulled into the arena parking lot, I put my phone in my pocket and flung my title over my shoulder as Dolph helped get my luggage out of the trunk. I pulled up the sleeves of my hoodie and lifted the bar of the luggage while waiting for AJ.

"Does that belong to this mystery guy?" Dolph said, acknowledging my hoodie. It was Seth's ADTR hoodie and it definitely didn't look like it belonged on me. "I mean, you're about as small as AJ. Just saying." He said.

"Uh, yeah. It was his. It's mine now. He left it." I said before turning on my heel to walk through the arena.

My locker room was shared with AJ, Dolph and Big E. I was relaxing backstage and doing some stretches in the doorway like I always did when I heard a yelling AJ walking down the hallway. She crawled under my leg as it was extended in the doorway and I turned my head to look at her as she pulled at her hair.

"Someone use the C word again?"

"Yeah. Ember!" She said. I turned my head to look at her and sighed.

"Alright, I'll go talk to her. Just stay here." I said. I really didn't want to have to do this, but well, if they were going to fight and I was going to be pulled in the middle of it all… might as well try to make it easier for me.

I walked through the halls, asking for directions to Ember's locker room. She wasn't too far from my room, but because of some of the excess crates and baggage from the ring setup, I had to take a different route. Turning the corner to her room, I knocked on the door once and opened the door to see Ember standing there, facing me.

"Nice of you to join us, Autumn!" She said, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Well, I had to go calm someone down thanks to you. She nearly lost her mind." I said. Kind of too far gone, but well… I'm sure she still has some sanity left in her.

"What the hell did you do, Em?" Seth asked, peeking out of the corner I'm assuming he'd been hiding in.

"I kind of slapped her around a little. And there is a slight chance I called her crazy." She said, holding her fingers close together. "Slight." She continued.

"What the fuck is he doing here!?" I yelled.

"Oh quit the pretending. I know all about… whatever you two were." She said. My eyes widened and I looked at her. "You want me to get out or…"

"I want him out, now." I said. As he walked passed me, I crossed my arms and looked at Ember.

"I love how you're mad at me for having him in here." She said.

"You still had contact with him!"

"And yet you had something going on with him. Which is worse here?" Shit. Alright Autumn, subject change.

"What you did with AJ wasn't necessary."

"And there you go again, running away from another situation." She said. I bit down on my tongue and glared up at her.

"I'm not running, Em."

"Your little friend wouldn't have gotten hit if she wasn't spying on me for you." She said. I tilted my head and began shaking it slowly.

"I didn't have her spy on you. That's all on her."

"Then why the hell is she following me around?" She asked. I simply shrugged my shoulders and sat down as she got herself ready for her match. About ten minutes later, she came out in her gear and looked down at me. "You know that match on Monday after Wrestlemania?"

"Yeah, what about it?" I asked, looking up at her.

"Seth's loyalty to someone is amazing. I knew something was off about that match, because I know Seth on his A game. How sweet of you to ask him to throw it." She said. I stood up and looked at her.

"He made that decision on his own. I didn't ask him to do anything."

"What?" She asked, looking at me as if she didn't believe me. Nodding, I shrugged my shoulders again.

"He wanted you out, so he got you out." I said, crossing my arms. She seemed infuriated and I didn't really care that she was about to take that all out on AJ.

The European Tour was pretty difficult. I was still with AJ and Dolph, which I was beginning to get used to, but I missed Ember and I missed Seth. I had hoped that my first international tour would be spent with my best friend, and when Seth came into the picture, I'd had hoped the nights would be spent with him but because of everything, I hadn't spoken to either of them. I refused to talk to Seth to concentrate on my matches overseas and AJ was crowding me with her issues so I couldn't even get a word in with Ember.

One of our friends from NXT, Sabrina had gotten injured a few months before. She was cleared to come on this tour, which was a plus of it all. She and I were texting and I hadn't seen her in forever, so she planned that we meet up and have dinner and she'd bring Ember with her. I was happy, but at the same time, I was still a little annoyed. For one, Ember assumed I had Seth throw the match and two, she hadn't gone out of her way to get in touch with me. It bugged the hell out of me, but I missed her too much to care.

I shuffled through my bag and picked out a red dress with some black heels; pretty standard and nothing too flashy. Ember, Sabrina and I were sharing the same hotel. The downside was so was AJ, Dolph, Dean, Roman and Seth. I did my hair and makeup myself and got a light jacket before walking out of my hotel room.

"Well well well, where are you off to?" I turned to see AJ leaning against her door which was across from mine.

"I'm going out. I'll be home before curfew mom, I promise." I said.

"Don't be too late. We have to go to the next city tomorrow." She said and walked back into her room.

I walked down the hallway and waited for the elevator. As I waited for the doors to open, I saw Roman and Seth at the corner of my eye talking outside their respective rooms. I turned my head as the doors opened and could have sworn I saw him looking but shook it off and walked into the elevator before the doors closed.

I went down and walked through the lobby before hailing a cab to take me to the restaurant. It wasn't far and at most, it was maybe a ten minute drive. Paying the driver, I stepped out and said I was supposed to meet up with Sabrina and Ember who were apparently already there. The man brought me to the table where Ember had her face down on the table.

"Lift that head of yours, Ember. People eat here." I said with my arms crossed as I held my clutch in one hand.

"Still with the sass, huh?" Ember said. I sat down next to Sabrina and looked around.

"So… what are we all gathered for?" I asked, taking a piece of bread and biting into it. Bread was my one food weakness, especially at restaurants. I could eat bread forever.

"Okay, basically you two need to make up. You've been friends for too long to let anything stupid get in the way of this." Sabrina said. It was true. My hatred of Dean and the fact that he was changing my best friend had truly pissed me off. "Do you two have anything you want to say to each other?"

"I have more to blame than she does." I said.

"I'm sorry, you said what now?"

"Yes, Ember. I am admitting it. Instead of helping you to get over… him, I just left you alone to deal with it. I didn't bother helping." I said, shrugging. "I'm sorry."

"I am too, kid." I saw her get up and she pulled me up from my seat, causing my bread to fall back down to the table and hugged me. I heard sniffling, and pulled away to look at her. I wasn't crying. Neither was she. We both looked down to see Sabrina sniffling. "There is no way you are crying right now."

"Shut up! It's just… you two are back!" She said.

The rest of the dinner went well. Ember and I went back to our sarcastic, best friend ways almost immediately and it was nice to get to talk to someone who didn't have as short a fuse as I did. I still knew she was keeping things from me, but well, I'd allow it. I didn't want the night to be ruined by my assumptions.

After dinner, I headed back to the hotel to get some sleep. AJ, Dolph and I were still travelling together for the remainder of the tour and they both liked looking at sights before we needed to get on any flights. I changed out of my dress and looked for a nightshirt to wear in my bag. I looked through and noticed one or two of Seth's shirts that I would sleep in at the bottom of the bag. I hadn't slept in one in weeks. Picking out one of my tank top and boxer short sets, I placed the shirts back in my suitcase and climbed into bed, falling asleep almost instantly.


	13. So Bored With These Games

I was never one to say anything bad about my profession. You choose your passion for a reason and there is nothing that you should really hate. Jet-lag is not something anyone loves though, and it's actually quite miserable when you are on a 24/7 schedule. I was riding with Ember this time, giving AJ and Dolph some time to themselves. It caused a bit of a tension between AJ and I, but just because she was best friend-less didn't mean that I needed to be. Plus, I knew Ember was in contact with Seth so it would maybe give me an excuse to see him. I was beginning to get exhausted with driving and turned to Ember in the passenger seat. She was looking out the window and I knew she was thinking about something.

"Hey Ember, you alright?" I asked, focusing back on the road. I saw her nod at the corner of my eye.

"Yeah, jet-lag is just kicking my ass."

"Well, go to sleep. I'm alright with driving since we're almost to the arena anyways. I plan to nod off in the locker room anyways." I said.

Within minutes, she was out cold. Sabrina sat down in the back seat and she was also out cold, so I was all alone with my thoughts. Per usual, my thoughts immediately went to Seth. What he was doing, was he thinking of me as much as I was thinking of him… did he miss me at all? Saying the things that I did that night is probably one of my biggest regrets to date, because I didn't mean any of them. You know how when you fight with someone or you get so angry at something that your emotions get the best of you and you just go off on some rant and you scream and you stomp and yell and just act like a little spoiled brat and eventually just form run on sentences in your mind like I am right now about the situation? No? Just me? Alright then.

We pulled up to the arena and I parked in one of the open spaces. I woke Sabrina up first so I could get our suitcases out of the trunk of the car. She woke up Ember and I handed the suitcases off before grabbing my title out of the trunk last. Ember had a match with one of the Bella Twins tonight and the winner would face AJ for the number one contenders match. I'd be at ringside, making sure the match was fair.

Getting dressed in some comfortable, yet appropriate clothing for being in front of the cameras, I grabbed my title and walked out of the room to look for Ember. I walked down a hallway and saw AJ running past me with Ember not too far behind. She ran right past me and began looking around at the end of the hallway. I walked up behind her and tapped her shoulder.

"Hey Ember, you okay there?"

"Yeah, I just thought I'd jog around like an idiot… listen. Are you still friends with that?" Ember asked, motioning to the direction AJ ran in. Here we go.

"Don't say that about her…" I said, looking down at the ground.

"Oh?"

"Look, she just… helped me through a rough patch, alright? She's cool with me." I said. I knew she was holding back her laughter.

"Uh, alright. Sure then." She said.

"Whatever, are you ready?"

"More than ever. Let's go." She said.

I did my entrance first before walking down to commentary. I sat down and looked over at the ring, waiting to put my headphones on. As Ember entered the area, I took a picture or two with some fans that were sitting behind the table and then looked back at the ring as the Bella Twins entered the ring. I put my headphones on and began listening to Cole rant and talk when I heard the word "R2D2!" being yelled.

I sat back in my seat, nodded and paid close attention to the work going on in the ring. It got to the point where I didn't even know my headphones were on. Ember ended up running shoulder first into the pole but had enough energy to hit a DDT on Nikki. That's when I saw the switch being done. I threw the headphones off and ran over to the ring.

"EMBER! R2D2! R2D2!" I yelled, my hands slamming down on the apron. Ember caught on and ended up getting the pin on Brie who was posing as Nikki.

I went and got my title before walking into the ring to raise Ember's arm in victory. I looked behind her and saw Nikki and I assumed she saw Brie behind me. We smiled and nodded at one another before superkicking the twins behind us which caused them to bounce back to which we both performed an underhook facebuster. The crowd was electric and I raised Ember's arm again before giving her a hug. We both left the ring together and the first person we saw backstage was AJ.

"Hello backstabber." She said.

"AJ! Really?" I said, crossing my arms.

"What? I'm only saying what's true."

"You want me to beat you so badly, don't you? I mean, why wait?" Ember said and before she could do anything, I pulled Ember back while Big E stood in front of me. "Oh what, I'm not afraid of you." She said.

"That dude has a bigger rack than I do." I mumbled, not realizing it was loud enough. I slapped my hand over my mouth and looked up at him.

"Just you wait little AJ. I'm going to get you." Ember said before getting out of my grip.

"Not if I get you first." AJ snapped back, and with that, Ember walked off.

I looked over at AJ who shrugged her shoulders and looked at me. I walked off and went back to my locker room, deciding that I had other business to tend to that night. Before Raw, WWE Superstars is normally filmed, but tonight, there was a match that would be filmed after the main event. Seth Rollins vs. Kane. I didn't want to watch from backstage, so I went and got the only baggy hoodie I owned, which was Seth's and walked out into the crowd to sit down in any vacant seat I could find. Seth, Dean and Roman entered through the crowd. Dean and Seth walked past me and I could swear that in Seth's turn around to look at the audience, he noticed me despite my head being down under the hood. He entered the ring and the match began. Kane was doing a pretty god job at beating him up and when I had seen enough, I left the match and walked backstage to get my things and leave. I had a week off to think about how everything next Monday would go when one of my best friends won a chance to beat me.

I went through my suitcase in the locker room backstage at Raw. I didn't have a match tonight and the only thing on my mind was Ember and AJ and who would win while I watched. I wouldn't be ringside, I'd be back here watching on one of the TV's. I heard a knock at my door and turned to see Ember poking her head in.

"Hey, do you have any plans Thursday night?" She asked.

"Not to my knowledge, why?"

"I'm planning something for us since we're all good again. Figure we can talk about some things we haven't spoken about."

"Ember, why do I feel like you're hiding something? And if this is about Seth, you can count me out." I said calmly.

"It's not about him… kind of." That caught my attention.

"Why does this have to wait? Can't we talk about it now?"

"Not really. I just need to figure out the right things to say so it all doesn't go to shit. I need a little time if that makes sense." She said. I sighed.

"You're lucky I do." I said, crossing my arms over my chest. "Have you spoken to Seth…" I said, allowing my voice to trail off.

"Thought you didn't want to bother." Ember said.

"I don't!" I said, beginning to put on some of my makeup. She sat down on the counter next to me.

"Then what is this?" She asked. I looked up at her and sat down. "Look, I don't mean to be against you on this, but he kind of had a valid point." She said, my head immediately shooting up.

"About what?!" I said, my voice rising.

"You were with him to get me back, weren't you? He told me about the kiss and what you said to him afterwards. It honestly seemed as if you were just with him to get me out of it all and leave him there." She said.

"That's not true at all!" I yelled, causing her to jump back. "I shared something with him that I've never shared with anyone else. I want him back in my life and look what I've done."

"That's on me. I should apologize for that." She said.

"No it's not."

"Yes it is! Come on, Autumn. I put you into this mess and you lost something you cared about." She said, throwing her arm around my shoulders as I looked down at the floor. "Look, I can talk to him. Maybe try to fix something."

"That's not necessary. It's fine." I said, standing up.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, can you just… I need to change and all that." I said. She nodded and told me she'd be outside if I needed her.

I walked back to my suitcase, looking for something… anything I could wear when I heard another knock at the door. I turned to see who it was but AJ had already slipped into the room, pointing at her shirt that she finally got to wear.

"Isn't it great? I cut one up for you too." She said, extending the shirt out to me. "Why aren't you taking it?" She asked after I hadn't reached out my hand.

"You're facing Ember tonight, AJ. I'm not picking sides." I said, looking through my suitcase again. She stood there silently before crossing her arms.

"Autumn, are you serious? She's been lying to you." AJ said.

"Oh wha-"

"No, listen. With all of the things I've seen, I mean really? She loved being in The Shield, she practically wags the fact that she sees Seth all the time in your face, and on top of that, she's dating some guy you so happen to hate and not approve of. I'm just saying, best friends don't do things like that. Best friends adjust. Take Kaitlyn for example. She didn't approve of Daniel and I, and I eliminated the problem. You need to eliminate your problems, Autumn. She made a fool of you when you got her out of there." AJ went on before getting cut off by a knock at the door. Adam poked his head in and looked over at AJ and I.

"Bad time?" He asked.

"No, I was just leaving." AJ said before placing the shirt in my hands. "I'm just saying… think it through." And with that, she left the room.

I looked down at the shirt as Adam walked inside to sit across from me. He was silent and watched as I put AJ's shirt on and looked at myself in the mirror.

"What's this all about?" Adam asked me as he stood up.

"I need to eliminate my problems and start getting serious. You told me once when you started training me that sometimes, you need to play a few mind games. I'm done being the pawn of other people's games, Adam. It's time I played a few of my own." I said before picking up my title and walking out the locker room door.


End file.
